A 14-year-old boy died after he and another teen stole a car and crashed it into a tree in Waukegan Sunday evening, police said.
The Waukegan Police Department and Waukegan Fire Department responded around 11:30 p.m. Sunday to the 100 block of North Jackson Street for a report of a serious vehicle crash with injuries.
Officers located a black Nissan sedan that had crashed into a fence and a utility pole.
Officers also located an unresponsive person, identified as a 14-year-old Waukegan boy, lying in the parkway area and a second person trying to render aid.
Waukegan Police Commander Joe Florip said that the second person, a 15-year-old Waukegan boy, told officers that he and the other boy had been walking when they were struck by the Nissan.
However, an investigation revealed that both boys found the Nissan running in a nearby driveway and took the vehicle without permission, Florip said.
The 15-year-old boy was driving and the 14-year-old boy was in the passenger seat.
The 15-year-old lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a fence and a utility pole. The 14-year-old was ejected from the vehicle.
Paramedics transported the 14-year-old to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The Lake County Coroner’s Office has scheduled an autopsy on the boy for Tuesday and his identity will be released after family notifications have been made.
The 15-year-old boy has been charged with reckless homicide, theft of a motor vehicle and criminal trespass to motor vehicle. He remains held in the Depke Juvenile Complex Center in Vernon Hills.
The incident remains under investigation by the Waukegan Police Department Traffic Division.