A Waukegan man was sentenced to three years of periodic imprisonment after pleading guilty to fatally hitting a 14-year-old girl with his car and then fleeing the scene.
Jhonatan Lopez-Castaneda, 31, of Waukegan, was charged in August with failure to report an accident causing death and two counts of failure to report an accident causing injury.
The charges stem from a crash that occurred on July 31 near the intersection of Crescent Avenue and Garrick Avenue in Waukegan.
Waukegan Deputy Police Chief Joe Florip said at the time that officers arrived to find a serious crash involving a vehicle and three pedestrians.
The Waukegan Police Department Major Crash Unit (MCU) was called to the scene due to the seriousness.
MCU investigators learned that a white 2011 Dodge Challenger was traveling eastbound on Crescent Avenue approaching Garrick Avenue.
Delilah Shoemaker, 14, of Waukegan, along with a 14-year-old boy and an adult male in his 40s, were walking their bikes on the south side of Crescent Avenue.
The Dodge struck Shoemaker and the two others as they walked eastbound, Florip said. The Dodge fled the scene.
The three pedestrians, who are family members, are all Waukegan residents.
Shoemaker was transported to an area hospital where she died from her injuries, Florip said.
The adult male and the 14-year-old boy were transported to an area hospital with moderate injuries. Both were treated and released.
Officers located the Dodge parked in the 2400 block of Dakota Road.
The Dodge was seized as evidence and Lopez-Castaneda was arrested.
Lake County Judge Theodore Potkonjak ordered Lopez-Castaneda held on a $1 million bond during an initial court hearing.
Shoemaker’s cousin, Emily Santana, said that the suspect driver struck Shoemaker and the two others at “full speed” and the driver had “no remorse.”
Shoemaker had turned 14 on July 24 — days before the crash.
Court records show Lopez-Castaneda entered into a negotiated plea deal with the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office on Thursday.
He pleaded guilty to one count of failure to report an accident causing death in exchange for his less serious charges being dismissed.
Lopez-Castaneda was sentenced to 36 months of periodic imprisonment and four years of probation. He will be allowed to go to work while serving his periodic imprisonment.
He was also ordered to complete 300 hours of public service and received 129 days of credit for time already served in jail.
The judge also ordered Lopez-Castaneda to follow numerous probation conditions such as not using any drugs, alcohol or cannabis.