Mundelein teen pleads guilty in '05 fatal car crash
A Mundelein teen faces up to five years in prison after admitting Monday he was responsible for the car crash that killed two friends.
Richard Wood, 18, will also be eligible for probation when he returns to face Lake County Circuit Judge John Phillips on Nov. 6.
Assistant State's Attorney Catherine Waldeck said Wood, of 24 S. Chicago Ave., was at the wheel of a 1999 Pontiac Trans Am that went out of control as it crossed railroad tracks on Diamond Lake Road on Nov. 13, 2005.
Israel Bueno and Jason Gembra, both 16-year-old passengers in Wood's car, died of injuries they suffered in the crash.
Waldeck said evidence showed Wood was driving at 50 to 59 mph at the time of the crash, almost double the posted 30 mph speed limit.
In exchange for Wood's pleas to two counts of reckless homicide, Waldeck agreed to withdraw more serious counts of the same charge that carried a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison.
She also dropped a drug possession charge alleging he was caught with Valium pills at Mundelein High School earlier this year.