Prospect Heights teen charged with DUI after rollover
A Prospect Heights teen who police say caused a crash that seriously injured him and his 15-year-old female passenger last October was ordered held on $100,000 bail Friday on charges of aggravated DUI involving great bodily injury.
Prosecutors say Nikola Radanovic, 18, was driving more than 70 miles per hour and attempting to flee from police at the time of the crash, which occurred about 12:37 a.m. Oct. 17.
Radanovic was driving west on Willow Road when a police officer noticed one headlight was out, said Cook County Assistant State's Attorney David Shin. The officer activated his lights and followed the vehicle, which did not stop, Shin said. The first officer called off the pursuit and notified fellow officers. A second officer encountered the vehicle going 70 miles per hour in a 30 mph zone and noticed the vehicle swerving, Shin said. When the officer caught up to Radanovic, the car he was driving had been involved in a single-car rollover, Shin said.
Both passengers had to be cut from the vehicle. The girl suffered two broken femurs, three fractured vertebrae in her neck and a seriously injured knee, Shin said. Radanovic suffered broken femurs, a broken left ankle and left shin and a ruptured bladder, Shin said. Both were treated at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital. The female passenger still uses crutches and may have to undergo additional knee surgery, Shin said.
According to investigators, the speedometer, which was shattered in the crash, registered a rate of more than 100 miles per hour. A hospital blood test indicated a blood alcohol content between .84 and .124, Shin said.
Authorities say the teens had been at a Mount Prospect party where they consumed alcohol.
Radanovic's attorney Sam Amirante said his client - who turned himself in Thursday - had been undergoing treatment since the crash and was cooperating with police.
Judge Joseph Cataldo ordered Radanovic have no contact with the girl, submit to drug and alcohol assessments and abide by a 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew.
Radanovic next appears in court on Feb. 18.