Elgin teen charged with being high and causing 2012 fatal crash
Authorities have issued an arrest warrant for an 18-year-old from Elgin involved in a fatal rollover crash in September 2012.
Shannon Hill, whose last known address is in the 0-99 block of Poplar Creek Drive, is accused of being high on marijuana and going at least 40 mph over the speed limit when he crashed in Burlington Township, killing his passenger Lawrence Echols, 17, of Elgin, and severely injuring another teen, according to police and court records.
The crash occurred at about 12:50 a.m. Sept. 2 on Plank Road west of Engel Road.
A Kane County grand jury indicted Hill Friday on charges of failure to report an accident involving a death, failure to report an accident involving an injury, two counts of aggravated DUI, reckless homicide, DUI, speeding 40 mph over the limit and improper lane use, according to court records.
Authorities have been looking for him ever since.
“We believe he knows about the warrant but has yet to turn himself in,” Kane County Sheriff's Department Lt. Pat Gengler said Wednesday. “It was a pretty bad crash, obviously. We'd definitely like to find this guy.”
Authorities say Hill was driving a 2007 Lincoln MKZ westbound on Plank when it crossed the centerline and left the roadway on the south side of Plank, rolling several times before hitting a tree.
Hill and a front seat passenger left the scene and told authorities they walked to Sherman Hospital in Elgin after the crash.
Gengler said urine and blood samples taken from Hill at the hospital were sent to the state crime lab and recently were returned, coming up positive for marijuana.
Two passengers in the rear seat had to be extricated. One of them was Echols, who was pronounced dead at the scene. The other, Shadontre Smith, 19, of South Elgin, was airlifted to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville.
After the crash, Kane County Sheriff's Deputies, K9 units from Kane and DeKalb counties and a helicopter searched for Hill and the front seat passenger, Jamiah Harrison, 18, of Elgin, authorities said.
“There were a lot of resources used at the time of the crash to find (Hill),” Gengler said.
Hill faces from four to 15 years in prison on the most serious charge, if convicted, although probation is an option.
Anyone with information about Hill is asked to call 911 or detectives at (630) 444-1103.