Elgin man who caused 4-vehicle crash in Crystal Lake while fleeing Cary police pleads guilty

An Elgin man was sentenced to five years in prison Wednesday after he pleaded guilty to failing to report a July crash he caused that injured another driver, and fleeing from Cary police in Crystal Lake.

Additional charges against Deondrae L. Clements, 36, were dismissed, including aggravated reckless driving causing great bodily harm and driving with a revoked license, according to a judgment order in the McHenry County court.

Clements was also ordered to pay $6,000 to the driver of an SUV he hit head-on in the crash, causing the driver to lose four fingers on his left hand, according to the order signed by Judge Tiffany Davis.

The four-vehicle crash occurred about 9:15 p.m. July 8, at the intersection of Route 31 and Three Oaks Road.

Authorities said Clements, driving a Mazda SUV, was heading west on Three Oaks Road toward Route 31 “at a high rate of speed,” when he “disregarded a traffic control light, entered the intersection and collided with two sedans” that were heading south, according to a news release from police.

He then “collided head-on” with the SUV driven by the man to whom Clements is to pay restitution. That man was traveling east on Three Oaks Road, just west of Route 31, police said. The drivers of the two sedans suffered minor injuries and were treated at local hospitals, police said.

The circumstances leading up to the crash began about three minutes earlier. Police said Clements fled an officer trying to make a traffic stop in Cary along Route 14 after noticing Clement’s vehicle had no taillights. The officer said he activated his overhead lights and followed Clements into a Jewel-Osco parking lot on Route 14.

Clements turned and looked at the officer and appeared to be stopping, but “then took off,” police said. He led the officer on a high-speed chase reaching more than 40 mph over the posted 35 mph speed limit, prosecutors said. Clements also drove “in the center turn lane of Three Oaks Road, passing several other vehicles,” according to the complaint.

The officer retreated from the chase due to the speeding, but Clements continued driving, resulting in the crash, according to a news release from the McHenry County state’s attorney’s office.

After the crash, Clements fled the scene on foot. He was arrested later by the East Dundee Police Department, authorities said.

Clements is required to serve at least half his prison time, followed by one year of mandatory supervised release. He receives credit for 309 days in the McHenry County jail.

In January, Clements pleaded guilty in Kane County to aggravated battery causing great bodily harm and was sentenced to five years in prison. In Kane County, Clements received 534 days’ credit in the Kane County jail. Both sentences will be served at the same time, court orders show.

The driver of the SUV who lost his fingers in the crash has since filed a lawsuit against Clements and the city of Cary police, according to a filing in the McHenry County court and Shaw Local reporting.