A Plainfield man has been charged after he allegedly drove drunk and caused a five-vehicle crash that left an innocent 72-year-old man dead and another person injured in Fox Lake in June.
John M. Buckley, 57, of the 24000 block of Thornberry Drive in Plainfield, was charged with reckless homicide and aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol.
The Fox Lake Police Department and Fox Lake Fire Protection District responded around 6 p.m. on June 5 to Route 12 and Big Hollow Road in Fox Lake for a report of a multiple-vehicle crash with injuries.
Fox Lake Acting Police Chief Dawn Deservi said at the time that the crash involved five vehicles, which included a silver 2014 Infiniti QX80 SUV, silver 2017 GMC Acadia, red Dodge Caravan, black Toyota Solara, and brown Chevrolet pickup.
A preliminary investigation revealed that the silver Infiniti, driven by Buckley, was traveling southbound on Route 12 and attempted to complete a right turn onto westbound Big Hollow Road, Deservi said.
Deservi said the Infiniti crossed into the eastbound lane of traffic on Big Hollow Road and struck the vehicles that were facing eastbound stopped for the red traffic light at Route 12.
Multiple witnesses reported Buckley was driving recklessly southbound on Route 12 just before the collision.
The driver of the GMC, identified as Stephen Kamen, 72, of Fontana-on-Geneva-Lake, Wisconsin, died at the scene.
An autopsy showed Kamen died from multiple blunt force injuries from a crash, according to Lake County Coroner Jennifer Banek.
Kamen’s wife, who was the passenger, was transported to Northwestern Medicine Hospital in McHenry with non-life-threatening injuries.
The Major Crash Assistance Team of Lake County responded to the scene and conducted an investigation.
Through a search warrant, a sample of Buckley’s blood was taken and analyzed for alcohol content.
The analysis revealed his blood alcohol concentration was 0.117 over five hours after the crash.
After reviewing the facts and circumstances of the case, the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office approved the charges against Buckley.
On Monday, Buckley surrendered himself to the Fox Lake Police Department, according to a statement released by the department.
His bond was set at $500,000. He was unable to post 10% of his bond to be bailed out and was transported to the Lake County Jail.