A teenager was left trapped in his car after authorities say he led police on a brief 110 mph pursuit that ended with his car rolling over into a ditch on Route 12 in Wauconda.
An officer with the Wauconda Police Department was on routine patrol northbound on Route 12 in Wauconda late in the evening on July 7.
He saw a vehicle driving southbound at a high rate of speed, according to Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Patrick Windmoeller.
The car was traveling 72 mph in a 45 mph zone and crossing over the center line multiple times.
The officer caught up to the car and attempted a traffic stop with lights and sirens activated near Route 12 and Old McHenry Road.
Windmoeller said the driver refused to pull over and was traveling at 80 mph in a 45 mph zone.
The car then accelerated to 110 mph in a 45 mph zone. The officer terminated the chase due to public safety concerns.
The vehicle was involved in a rollover crash soon after where it landed in a ditch on the opposite side of the road, approximately two miles further down, Windmoeller said.
A Lake County Sheriff’s Office deputy witnessed the rollover crash. The deputy made contact with Edwin D. Lucio-Cardena, 18, of Island Lake.
Lucio-Cardena was identified as the driver. He was still trapped inside the vehicle, Windmoeller said.
Windmoeller said Lucio-Cardena had a strong odor of alcohol on his breath. He initially denied drinking but eventually admitted to consuming alcohol.
Lucio-Cardena later submitted to a preliminary breath test and blew a 0.15 blood alcohol concentration, Windmoeller said.
There was a male passenger in the front seat who also appeared to be intoxicated.
Lucio-Cardena was transported to the hospital to be evaluated. He submitted to a DUI kit for his blood and urine at the hospital, Windmoeller said.
Officers noted that there was significant traffic on the road driving northbound during the chase.
They also noted that Lucio-Cardena’s vehicle ultimately went over the median, landing in a ditch near the northbound lanes, Windmoeller said.
“The Defendant is just shy of his 19th birthday and his actions in this case including recklessly fleeing from law enforcement at a high rate of speed while highly intoxicated threatened the lives of himself, his passenger and all others on the road that night,” Windmoeller said.
“The Defendant is not even permitted to legally drink for over two more years, yet he did so anyway, all while speeding. Given the magnitude of the threat to the community and the Defendant’s demonstrated disregard for the authority of law enforcement, there are no conditions or combinations of conditions short of detention to protect the community from this Defendant’s abject lack of concern for the safety of himself and other motorists,” the prosecutor added.
The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office filed a petition to detain Lucio-Cardena pending trial and Lake County Judge Michael Nerheim granted the request during a detention hearing.
Defense attorney Vanessa Sheehan said during the hearing that her client is a 2025 graduate of Wauconda High School and works full-time in Lake Zurich.
She said the allegations are “very concerning” but that Lucio-Cardena has no criminal history and never heard the lights or sirens from the officer, arguing for his release with pre-trial conditions.
Sheehan also said it was “by the grace of God” that neither Lucio-Cardena nor his passenger was injured.
While Nerheim granted the petition to detain, another judge later released Lucio-Cardena from the Lake County Jail during a subsequent court hearing and placed him on Level 4 pre-trial supervision, with him being ordered to abide by a curfew and be affixed with an alcohol monitoring device.
He was also ordered not to consume alcohol or drugs.
Lucio-Cardena is scheduled to appear in court again on August 25 for a status of preliminary hearing.