The man who allegedly fled to Colorado after fatally hitting a mother and fleeing the scene in Winthrop Harbor in February has been extradited to Illinois and released pending trial, with the victim’s family saying they are “deeply disappointed.”
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 on the evening of 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 June 21 to the Lakewood Police Department in Colorado.
Kern was booked into the Jefferson County, Colorado Jail and was later extradited back to Lake County earlier this week.
Kern appeared for his First Appearance Court hearing Wednesday morning and then his detention hearing Friday afternoon in front of Lake County Judge Michael Nerheim.
Though none of the charges against Kern are detainable under Illinois’ SAFE-T Act, the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office filed a petition to deny Kern’s release pending trial because his alleged felonious actions inflicted great bodily harm.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Nicholas Shepherd said in the petition that Kern left Pit Stop, a bar at 1907 North Sheridan Road in Zion, prior to the alleged hit-and-run that evening.
Surveillance video from the bar allegedly showed Kern consuming some sort of alcoholic beverage.
Kern then got into his white GMC Terrain SUV and went into the Taco Bell just south of the bar, the petition said.
“The vehicle was seen on security footage at Taco Bell showing no damage at 10:21 P.M.,” the petition said.
Winthrop Harbor police officers obtained security footage from the Spark’d Dispensary, located north of where the hit-and-run occurred, showing the GMC driving by at around 10:26 p.m. with “heavy front-end damage on the passenger side of the vehicle and that the passenger-side headlight was not illuminated,” the petition said.
Police further used data from Flock license plate reading cameras and identified the GMC as allegedly belonging to Kern.
The day after the hit-and-run, officers went to Kern’s registered address in Pleasant Prairie and asked him if they could look at his vehicle, but Kern refused, Shepherd said during the detention hearing. Investigators later obtained a search warrant for Kern’s GMC.
Sometime around May 1, Kern allegedly left a note for his family saying that “this is my only option,” “I am a coward and will be running away from the same empathetic life I have lived,” and “I am sorry for everything and mainly that I turned out to be such a sh-tty person,” before allegedly fleeing to Colorado.
Kern’s family then reported him as missing to the Pleasant Prairie Police Department.
Shepherd asked Nerheim to grant prosecutors’ petition to deny Kern’s pre-trial release, arguing that “it is very clear” that Kern allegedly fled to Colorado while knowing that he was a “target of an investigation.”
Shepherd argued that there is no technology available to ensure Kern is confined to his home and would not leave the Lake County jurisdiction again.
Shepherd also pointed out how Kern was serving six years of probation for a driving while impaired (DWI) case in Stearns County, Minnesota, and that there are no pre-trial conditions that would ensure Kern will not drive or consume alcohol.
Kern’s defense attorney, Mark Sutter, argued that Kern has little to no criminal background and that he is a 35-year-old “college-educated, young man.”
Sutter also argued that there is no toxicological evidence of Kern being intoxicated at the time of the alleged hit-and-run and that the police “made no real efforts to do any sort of in-depth investigation” when they were speaking with him at his home the following day.
Sutter further argued that as time passed during the investigation, Kern voluntarily went to the Winthrop Harbor Police Department to pay a $500 impound fee for his car.
“It wasn’t like he was willfully trying to get away,” Sutter told Nerheim.
“He never hid his identity. He contacted the police and was present when they contacted him,” Sutter added.
Sutter also told the judge that Kern went to Colorado when there was no arrest warrant at the time, and when Kern learned of his arrest warrant while in Colorado, he “immediately, on his own” went to the Lakewood Police Department to turn himself in and answer to his charges.
“I’m asking for the court to consider really with some strength and veracity that this individual did not willfully flee. I think, he was sort of, judge, buying time, finding himself and trying to figure things out but upon learning that this case is now real, it’s now in the system, he surrendered,” Sutter said.
Sutter further asked Nerheim to reject prosecutors’ petition to deny Kern’s release because he argued there are no specific allegations that Kern is a “real and present threat” to an identifiable person.
Sutter said the court could instead impose various conditions, like GPS monitoring and checking in with probation, that would make pre-trial detention unnecessary.
Shepherd rebutted Sutter and argued that there is no toxicology evidence in this case because Kern allegedly fled the scene.
“There’s no chance for standardized field sobriety tests to be done, no chance for an evidentiary breath sample, no chance for a DUI investigation at all because the police weren’t able to track the defendant until the following day,” Shepherd said.
Shepherd further argued that Kern’s cooperative actions in the case were only done after he allegedly left a note for his family and allegedly fled to Colorado.
“He does all of this after he knows that he’s the target of the investigation. And quite frankly, as although counsel tries to make it sound like he was absolutely cooperative, I talk in the court back to the fact that they asked to search his vehicle then and there and inspect it. It was parked in a garage. He said no, and it necessitated the investigators to get a search warrant,” Shepherd said.
Shepherd again asked Nerheim to deny Kern’s pre-trial release, adding, “The court has no way, no way to guarantee that the defendant will not flee the jurisdiction and has no way to ensure he will not drive a car or consume alcohol.”
Nerheim considered both Shepherd and Sutter’s arguments and went through the three prongs that prosecutors must prove for pre-trial release to be denied, which are showing clear and presumptuous evidence that a detainable offense was committed, showing that a defendant poses a “real and present threat” to others, and showing that there are no conditions the court could impose that would mitigate such threat.
Nerheim noted how Kern did not go to Colorado immediately after the alleged hit-and-run and instead went after a couple of months and before he was indicted on charges.
“As far as the flight risk, I think it would be significant or a different situation if, for example, the defendant was interviewed by law enforcement on the 27th [of February], and then that day or the next day, he took off to Colorado and had to be arrested and brought back into custody, or even perhaps if the defendant knew about the indictment and then went to Colorado,” Nerheim said.
“It appears that this defendant went to Colorado knowing that he was under investigation, prior to a warrant being issued, prior to an indictment, and upon learning about both, subjected himself to the jurisdiction of this court,” Nerheim added.
Nerheim further pointed out how Kern completed his six-year Minnesota probation successfully.
“So there is evidence that even if the state were to have met their burden under the first prong and the second prong, which frankly I’m not sure that they have, but even if they did, under the third prong, the defendant has shown that he can and will follow court orders because he’s turned himself in and has a history showing that he follows court orders,” Nerheim said.
“I don’t believe the state has met their burden on the petition to detain, and I’m going to deny it,” Nerheim concluded.
Kern was released from custody with conditions like not consuming illegal drugs or alcohol, being subject to random drug testing and being placed on a SCRAM (secure continuous remote alcohol monitor) device.
Kern is also ordered not to go to any bars or businesses that primarily sell alcohol, not to drive a motor vehicle, and be under curfew.
Nerheim additionally ordered Kern not to leave Illinois except to reside at his Pleasant Prairie home, and that Lake County pre-trial services still had the ability to monitor his whereabouts over the Illinois-Wisconsin border.
Kern is next scheduled to appear for an arraignment on July 23.
White’s daughter, Shaeve, told Lake & McHenry County Scanner that she and her family are “deeply disappointed” with the court’s decision to release Kern pending trial.
“Our family is heartbroken and deeply disappointed by the court’s decision to release Travis Kern on pretrial conditions,” Shaeve said.
“While we understand that everyone is entitled to due process under the law, this decision has been incredibly painful as we continue grieving the tragic and senseless loss of my beloved mother, Shanna White.”
“No court ruling can lessen the pain of losing my mother, Shanna White. Seeing the person accused of causing her death released before trial is something that is very difficult for our family to process. We live every day with the emptiness left by her absence, and our lives have been forever changed,” Shaeve said.
Shaeve added that despite their disappointment, they remain faithful in the justice system.
“We will continue to attend every hearing, cooperate fully with prosecutors, and stand together as a family until this case reaches its conclusion. We believe the evidence will be presented in court, and we remain hopeful that justice will ultimately be served,” Shaeve said.
“We are deeply grateful for the overwhelming support, prayers, and kindness our family has received from our community, friends, and even strangers. Your encouragement has carried us through some of the darkest days of our lives, and we truly appreciate everyone who has stood beside us.”
“Today, we ask everyone to remember Shanna White, my mother…. She was so much more than a victim or a name in a news headline. She was a loving mother, aunt, sister, daughter, & grandmother whose life touched so many people. She was loved beyond words, and her absence is felt every single day. We will continue to honor her memory, speak her name, and fight for the justice she deserves.”
“We respectfully ask for continued prayers and privacy as we move forward. Although today’s decision is painful, it is not the end of this case. We remain committed to seeing justice served for my mother Shanna White, and we will continue to stand together as a family in her honor,” Shaeve added.
Lake & McHenry County Scanner also reached out to Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart for a statement after the detention hearing.
“Motor vehicle accidents are one of the leading causes of preventable deaths in Lake County,” Rinehart said.
“When people leave the scene of an accident without reporting it, they are committing a very serious felony, and our outstanding law enforcement partners will track them down.”
“I want to thank the Winthrop Harbor Police Department, Major Crash Assistance Team, and our prosecutors for their excellent collaboration in this case. We are here to support the family and make sure that they get justice,” Rinehart said.
“Our office filed a detention petition because we believe this offender is a threat to the community. If the petition had been granted, he would have been detained without the ability to use cash bail. We respect, but disagree, with the Court’s ruling denying our petition,” Rinehart added.