Prosecutors say a man drove drunk and high while traveling at 124 mph, causing a fiery crash into a tree that killed his 11-year-old and 16-year-old brothers in Lindenhurst last year.
A Lake County grand jury returned a 21-count indictment on July 23 charging Adrian Tiscareno, 21, of Wadsworth.
Tiscareno was charged with 10 counts of aggravated driving under the influence causing a crash resulting in death, six counts of reckless homicide and five counts of aggravated driving under the influence causing a crash resulting in bodily harm.
An arrest warrant was issued for him following the grand jury charging him and he was taken into custody on Wednesday.
The charges stem from a double fatal single-vehicle crash that the Lake Villa Fire Protection District and Lindenhurst Police Department responded to around 11:37 p.m. on July 5, 2024, in the 1700 block of Grand Avenue in Lindenhurst.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Francis DeRosa said a gray Acura TLX sedan, driven by Tiscareno, was found heavily damaged in the front yard of a home.
Then-Lindenhurst Police Chief Thomas C. Jones said an Acura TL sedan was traveling eastbound on Grand Avenue.
The Acura left the roadway east of Prospect Drive and struck a tree, resulting in a fire.
Officers could not open the doors due to the extensive damage and they used fire extinguishers and a nearby garden hose to try to extinguish the car fire before the fire department arrived.
Firefighters arrived, extinguished the fire and began extricating all four occupants who were trapped inside, DeRosa said.
Officers could smell an odor of an alcoholic beverage. Adrian Tiscareno, the driver of the Acura, was only 20 years old at the time.
Alonso Tiscareno, 11, of Wadsworth, and Antony Tiscareno, 16, of Wadsworth, were in the backseat and were severely injured.
They were both pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics and a hospital physician, DeRosa said.
Adrian Tiscareno, who was the driver, and a 20-year-old Beach Park man, who was in the front passenger seat, were transported to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville in critical condition.
Prosecutors detailed the three victims’ horrific and extensive injuries during a detention hearing on Thursday.
The front seat passenger survived but was hospitalized for nearly a full month following the incident.
The two juveniles who died and Adrian Tiscareno were all brothers, DeRosa said.
Officers who went to Advocate Condell Medical Center noted that Adrian Tiscareno’s clothes smelled like alcohol. He allegedly also told a firefighter that he had consumed alcohol.
DeRosa said an independent witness saw the Acura speeding at what she estimated to be over 100 mph when she heard tire screeching, saw the vehicle hit the median of the road, go slightly airborne, come down onto the oncoming lane of traffic and hit the tree head-on.
The posted speed limit was 40 mph and a crash reconstruction indicated the Acura was traveling 124 mph five seconds before impact.
Investigators also obtained speed information from the vehicle showing it traveled as fast as 153 mph at one point, DeRosa said.
The reconstruction showed the Acura went across an oncoming lane of traffic, left the roadway, struck an IDOT utility cover, struck two mailboxes, came close to houses, struck a tree and came to rest in one of the yards. Debris from the crash struck a home.
A search warrant was obtained for Adrian Tiscareno’s blood and it was sent to the crime lab. His blood alcohol content was 0.19, more than two times the legal limit. His Delta 9 THC was 43.2 ng/mL, DeRosa said.
The legal limit for THC is 5 ng/mL, meaning he was over eight times the legal limit.
An obituary for the two children said they left behind a large amount of family who will “miss them dearly.”
“Words cannot describe the immense pain they leave us with. Their laughs, their smiles and simply their presence will be something we will never overcome,” the obituary said.
Antony Tiscareno was entering his junior year of high school and had been looking forward to graduating and obtaining his driver’s license.
Alonso Tiscareno was described as timid and shy growing up but turned out to be the “life of the party.”
“They both enjoyed playing video games and would spent endless hours playing with their siblings. Our lives without them will never be the same and will be remembered forever,” the family said in their obituary.
The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office filed a petition to detain Adrian Tiscareno pending trial, arguing he poses a danger to the community.
The man was arrested in May 2022 by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office for possessing an AR-15 rifle while he was already out on bond for being caught with a gun inside the Dave and Buster’s in Vernon Hills.
After the double fatal crash but before he was charged, Adrian Tiscareno was arrested by the Gurnee Police Department on February 21 for driving under the influence and causing a crash where he allegedly fled and then was found with a 17-year-old child passenger in his car.
“This Defendant was a real and present threat the safety of all victims in this case to the extent that two of them, his own brothers, who were only 11 and 16 years old tragically died at the scene of horrific trauma,” DeRosa said.
“In addition to these victims, the Defendant poses a real and present threat to the safety of the entire Lake County community. He chose to consume alcohol to the extent that he was over twice the legal limit and consumed so much THC, that his levels were over eight times the legal limit of 5 ng/mL. The Defendant then decided to drive a motor vehicle with his two young brothers and another individual at speeds of up to 124 miles per hour while under the influence of these substances,” DeRosa said.
The mother of Adrian Tiscareno testified during his detention hearing on Thursday afternoon while tearfully asking for him to be released from custody.
“It has been extremely hard for all of us. I feel like Adrian already carries a burden and I don’t think him being in a jail cell is going to help him,” she said.
Lake County Judge Michael Nerheim granted the petition to detain Tiscareno and called the incident a “horrible tragedy.”
He said he believes that the defendant poses a real and present danger to the community and his past actions and history have shown that no conditions of release could mitigate the threat.
The judge also said he extends his “deepest sympathy” to the Tiscareno family but that he has an obligation to detain Tiscareno to protect the Lake County community.
Tiscareno remains held in the Lake County Jail and is scheduled to appear in court again on August 28 for an arraignment hearing.