A Round Lake man has been charged with reckless homicide after a crash that left a 33-year-old man, described as someone who “loved his family fiercely,” dead and his car engulfed in flames in North Chicago.
The North Chicago Police Department and North Chicago Fire Department responded around 12:05 p.m. on September 21 to the 2900 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive for a report of a vehicle crash with injuries.
911 callers reported one of the vehicles was fully engulfed in flames and a person was possibly still inside the car.
The victim was identified by Lake County Coroner Jennifer Banek as Thomas Byrne, 33, of North Chicago.
Officers and firefighters arrived to find a two-vehicle crash with one car on fire, according to North Chicago Fire Chief John Umek.
Umek said the car was fully engulfed in flames. The second car, a Jeep Grand Cherokee, was heavily damaged.
The sedan that caught fire came to rest on large bushes and the Jeep came to rest against a fire hydrant.
Both vehicles were only occupied by their drivers. Byrne, who was inside the car that caught fire, was pronounced dead at the scene.
The driver of the Jeep, now identified as Anebal Hicks, 24, of Round Lake, was transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Martin Luther King Jr. Drive was shut down in both directions from Green Bay Road to Hillcrest Avenue for several hours.
The Major Crash Assistance Team of Lake County (MCAT) responded to conduct a crash reconstruction and investigation.
Hicks was charged on January 29 with two counts of reckless homicide by motor vehicle, a Class 3 felony, and two counts of aggravated reckless driving causing bodily harm, a Class 4 felony.
An arrest warrant was issued for him and he was taken into the custody of the Lake County Jail on Wednesday morning.
Lake County Chief Deputy Coroner Steve Newton said it took an extended time to positively identify Byrne due to the fire.
Newton said the coroner’s office worked closely with the suspected family of the victim in order to obtain dental records and have them compared by a forensic odontologist, leading to the positive identification.
A preliminary autopsy showed he died as a result of blunt force injuries from the vehicle crash.
An obituary for Byrne said he left the world in a “tragic” crash. His mother said he was the “ultimate nerd” and had obtained a degree in chemistry and biology from Rollins College in Florida.
“He loved concerts singing at the top of his lungs and diving into books or conversations that stretched the imagination and often broke the sound barriers. He was an athlete at heart, a swimmer, a water polo captain and a brief but enthusiastic member of crew at Rollins. He was passionate about lifting,” his mother said.
His obituary said he loved his family fiercely and shared a lifelong bond with his brother, who was his best friend.
“He was a son, nephew, cousin and friend who left an indelible mark on everyone who had the privilege of knowing him. His humor, his intelligence, his quirks and his kind soul will never [be] carried forward in the hearts of those who loved him most,” his mother said.
Hicks appeared in First Appearance Court in Lake County on Wednesday afternoon where he was released from custody on pre-trial conditions.
He is scheduled to appear in court again on March 12 for a preliminary hearing.