A judge denied pre-trial release to a Waukegan man after he and a woman were charged with fatally running over a 17-year-old boy riding his bicycle in Waukegan and fleeing the scene.
The Waukegan Police Department and Waukegan Fire Department responded around 12:45 a.m. on November 10 to the area of Belvidere Road and Fulton Avenue for a report of a vehicle crash with injuries.
Emergency crews arrived to find a male victim who had been struck by two vehicles.
Lake County Coroner Jennifer Banek said Jorge Carmona, 17, of Waukegan, was unresponsive and pronounced dead at the scene.
The Waukegan Police Department Major Crash Unit was on the scene for several hours investigating the hit-and-run, which left the boy deceased in the middle of Belvidere Road.
Waukegan Deputy Police Chief Scott Chastain said that the investigation showed Carmona, who was a student, was riding a bicycle in the westbound lanes of traffic.
Carmona was struck by a vehicle and then while lying in the roadway, was struck by a second vehicle. Both vehicles fled the scene.
Just over a week following the hit-and-run, Monica A. Valladolid, 44, of Vernon Hills, was charged with leaving the scene of a crash involving injury or death, a Class 4 felony.
A second suspect, Jose U. Ramirez, 34, of Waukegan, was charged with reckless homicide, a Class 3 felony, and leaving the scene of a crash involving injury or death, a Class 4 felony.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Michael Theis said video surveillance showed a truck, driven by Ramirez, traveling on northbound Fulton Avenue from a bar.
Ramirez had been at a bar for hours just prior to the crash, according to Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Nicholas Shepherd.
Ramirez disregarded a stop at the intersection with Belvidere Road and struck Carmona before fully running him over, Theis said.
The truck carried the victim’s bicyclist for a block as it fled the scene.
Video surveillance showed that Valladolid, who was traveling westbound in her car through the intersection, ran over Carmona moments later as he visibly lay in the roadway, Theis said.
She did not stop and fled the scene, Theis said.
Valladolid and her passenger were interviewed and they acknowledged running over “something.”
The undercarriage of the woman’s car was covered in blood, Theis said.
Theis said Valladolid did not provide any assistance to the victim and left him to die in the middle of the road.
Luis Albarran, who is representing Valladolid, said his client did not realize she struck a person and thought it was a pothole. He said the incident occurred on a rainy night while it was dark.
The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office filed a petition to detain Valladolid pending trial and Lake County Judge Michael Nerheim denied the petition during a detention hearing last week.
Nerheim said that Valladolid’s lack of criminal history and her age led him to believe she could be released from custody pending trial and comply with pre-trial conditions.
Valladolid, who turned herself in after a warrant was issued for her, was placed on Level 3 pre-trial release with a curfew at the discretion of pre-trial services. She was also ordered not to drive without a valid driver’s license.
Shepherd said Ramirez eluded law enforcement’s attempts to locate him following the incident and fled the state.
He was arrested in Kenosha, Wisconsin last month and was extradited back to Illinois this week.
A public defender for Ramirez said his client does not own the suspect vehicle used in the crime and argued it was not Ramirez who was responsible.
Ramirez appeared for a detention hearing in Lake County on Friday afternoon after prosecutors filed a petition to detain him.
Nerheim granted the petition and remanded him to the Lake County Jail pending trial.
The judge said Ramirez poses a danger to the community and no conditions imposed could mitigate the threat.
Ramirez is scheduled to appear in court again on December 30 for a preliminary hearing.
Valladolid is scheduled to appear in court again on December 18 for a status of preliminary hearing.