A Round Lake man is facing felony charges for allegedly speeding and running a red light as he caused a crash that left his mother dead in McHenry in June.
Emmet J. Zywiec, 19, of Round Lake, was of the 1-99 block of North Macgillis Drive in Round Lake, was charged with reckless homicide, a Class 3 felony, and aggravated reckless driving causing bodily harm, a Class 4 felony.
Court documents show Zywiec was driving a 2006 Ford Crown Victoria eastbound on Elm Street at Curran Road in McHenry on June 17.
Zywiec was driving with a “willful and wanton disregard for the safety” of others by traveling 82 mph in a 45 mph speed zone, according to a criminal complaint filed in McHenry County Circuit Court.
Zywiec disobeyed a red traffic signal without braking or slowing down and struck a 2012 Hyundai Veloster in the intersection, the complaint said.
The Hyundai was traveling westbound on Route 120 attempting to turn left to travel southbound on Curran Road when it was struck by the Ford, police said.
The crash caused the Ford to drive off the roadway and come to a rest upright in a drainage ditch on the southeast corner of the intersection.
Zywiec was uninjured but his passenger, identified as Gabrielle Zywiec, 52, of Wonder Lake, was seriously injured and trapped inside the vehicle.
It took firefighters approximately 15 minutes to extricate the woman from the vehicle.
Gabrielle Zywiec was flown by a LifeNet medical helicopter to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville where she later died.
Four people occupied the Hyundai. Two of them were transported to Northwestern Medicine McHenry Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Emmet Zywiec was cited at the time of the crash for disobeying a traffic control signal and operating an uninsured motor vehicle.
On November 8, a McHenry County judge approved an arrest warrant for Zywiec on the felony charges.
Zywiec was arrested by officers on Thursday. He was released from custody after posting 10% of his $20,000 bond.
A court hearing is scheduled for November 22.