The driver wanted for allegedly fatally striking a Waukegan mother and fleeing the scene in Winthrop Harbor in February turned himself in to police in Colorado on Sunday.
Travis Walter-Wesley Kern, 35, of Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, was charged with failure to report a crash involving death, a Class 1 felony, and leaving the scene of a crash involving injury or death, a Class 4 felony.
Shanna White, 50, of Waukegan, was struck and killed by a vehicle while walking on Sheridan Road between 14th Street and 16th Street in Winthrop Harbor around 11:10 p.m. on February 26.
The driver and vehicle involved in the crash fled northbound on Sheridan Road.
Following an investigation by police, a grand jury indicted Kern and a warrant was issued for him on May 6.
Winthrop Harbor Police Chief Anthony Velardi announced that Kern turned himself in on Sunday to the Lakewood Police Department in Colorado.
Kern was later booked into the Jefferson County, Colorado Jail that same evening and remains held there pending extradition proceedings to Illinois.
The warrant for Kern said he was the driver of the vehicle that struck White, and he knew the crash occurred but failed to immediately stop his vehicle at the scene and remain there.
Kern also failed to report the crash within a half-hour after the crash, the warrant added.
If convicted of the most serious charge, Kern faces up to 15 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.
White’s daughter, Shaeve, told Lake & McHenry County Scanner that Kern’s arrest “does not erase the pain and devastation that his actions have caused.”
“After months of heartbreak, sleepless nights, and unanswered questions, our family has finally learned that the person responsible for taking my mother’s life has turned himself in,” Shaeve said.
“My mother was more than a headline. She was loved, cherished, and meant the world to so many people. Her life mattered, and she deserved to come home that day. Instead, our family has been forced to live with unimaginable grief and the painful reality that someone made the choice to leave her behind.”
“To the man responsible, turning yourself in was the right thing to do, but it does not undo the suffering your actions have caused. My mother deserved compassion, dignity, and the chance to survive. We have cried, prayed, and searched for answers while carrying a pain that no family should ever have to endure,” Shaeve said.
“Today, we are asking the community and the justice system to stand with us. We want accountability. We want the truth. And we want justice for my mother. No family should have to bury a loved one while waiting for the person responsible to come forward.”
“We will continue to honor my mother’s memory, speak her name, and fight for the justice she deserves. This is not about revenge; it is about responsibility, accountability, and making sure my mother’s life is never forgotten.”
“Thank you to everyone who stood beside us, shared her story, prayed for our family, and refused to let this case go cold. Your support helped bring us to this moment, and we ask that you continue to stand with us as we move forward in the pursuit of justice,” Shaeve added.