Prosecutors say a man used his vehicle as a weapon to hit his neighbor multiple times, leaving him injured, and nearly running over a child during the attack in Fox Lake.
Carl A. Schroeder, 41, of Fox Lake, was charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a motor vehicle, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, leaving the scene of a crash involving injury, failure to report a crash involving injury, reckless driving and driving on a suspended license.
Prosecutors said a male victim was in his driveway on March 7 in Fox Lake with his two juvenile children in his car when he got out to get his mail at the end of the driveway.
A teenage child who lives in the neighborhood was walking home from a store to go to baseball practice at the same time.
Prosecutors said Schroeder began driving down the street at an “extremely high rate of speed” aiming to strike the victim but he missed.
Schroeder reversed his car and drove over the victim’s foot before then repositioning the car to strike the victim again with the front of the car, prosecutors said.
The victim tried to get away from Schroeder by running into the street, at which time Schroeder slammed on the accelerator and drove right into the victim, prosecutors said.
The victim was struck center mass and thrown into the air before Schroeder allegedly fled the scene.
Prosecutors said Schroeder has an ongoing problem with the victim and has “repeatedly taken every opportunity he can to terrorize him.”
While fleeing, Schroeder nearly struck the child who was walking back from the store and the boy had to take “evasive movements” to not be hit, prosecutors said. He was “terrified” that he was going to be run over.
The victim told officers it appeared Schroeder was following him throughout the day leading up to the incident. Schroeder had been sitting in his idling Chevrolet Traverse just moments before the attack, prosecutors said.
The male victim was evaluated by paramedics but initially declined transport to the hospital. He began vomiting and collapsed in his yard, which led to him being transported to the hospital and admitted for treatment.
Prosecutors said Schroeder, who has several prior criminal convictions, evaded police contact for over two days before being taken into custody.
A public defender for Schroeder denied the allegations against his client and said he was at his mother’s home in Chicago visiting her at the time of the incident.
Lake County Judge Michael Nerheim granted a petition to detain Schroeder pending trial after prosecutors argued he posed a danger to the community.
Schroeder remains held in the Lake County Jail and is scheduled to appear in court again on April 2 for a preliminary hearing.