A high school senior’s promising future was tragically cut short three weeks before graduation after he was involved in a devastating car crash that split his car in half. Authorities say the Illinois teen was killed in a “fast and furious” accident caused by a drunk driver racing at 131 mph and had his lights off.
Around 11 p.m. on May 12, 21-year-old Taeyoung Kim was reportedly racing his 2021 Ford Mustang at speeds exceeding 130 mph in Glenview, Illinois – a suburb approximately 20 miles northwest of Chicago.
Police said Kim’s own dashcam captured him speeding, aggressively passing other vehicles, and running a red light.
Witnesses claimed to have observe Kim driving with his headlights off, according to court documents. Kim allegedly turned his headlights back on as he was entering an intersection. However, it would be too late.
Kim’s Mustang plowed into a Mercedes being driven by 17-year-old Marko Niketic.
The impact of the crash was so immense that it split Niketic’s car in half – the front half was on the road and the back half flew into a nearby fence of a backyard.
Citing the bond court proffer, WMAQ-TV reported that Kim’s vehicle was traveling at 131 mph just 2.5 seconds before the crash and 122 mph at the time of impact, according to the vehicle’s black box.
The speed limit on Lake Avenue at that location of the car accident is 35 miles per hour.
Niketic was pronounced dead at the crime scene.
Niketic’s 16-year-old girlfriend, who was in the passenger seat at the time of the car crash, suffered a subarachnoid hemorrhage, hematoma of the brain, a fracture of the pelvis vertebrae, and hyper-density of the left frontal lobe of the brain with loss of consciousness and seizure.
A passenger in Kim’s vehicle also sustained significant injuries, including a fractured back and a severed artery.
Niketic’s unnamed girlfriend and Kim’s passenger were both rushed to the hospital in critical condition.
The girlfriend was reportedly released from the hospital on Friday.
Kim allegedly sustained a broken femur in the car crash.
A blood test revealed that Kim had a blood alcohol level of .088 – above the legal limit. The test also found that he had cannabis in his system, according to court docs.
Police found a bong, rolling papers, a one-hitter cannabis pipe with residue, and two plastic containers with cannabis residue inside Kim’s vehicle during their investigation.
Kim was arrested on Friday and charged with two counts of aggravated DUI causing death, reckless homicide, aggravated DUI causing great bodily harm, DUI of alcohol, DUI of drugs, and several traffic violations, including speeding 35 mph over the limit.
Kim is being held without bond.
Kim made his first court appearance on Saturday, when the judge said the “fast and furious deadly accident” was a “brazen disregard for human life.”
His next court date is scheduled for May 24.
Niketic’s heartbreaking death happened exactly three weeks before he was set to graduate from Glenbrook South High School on June 2. The teenager’s funeral was held two days before he was to attend his senior prom.
Last week, a vigil was held near the crash site with Niketic’s heartbroken family in attendance.
Preston Shute, a friend of Niketic, told NBC Chicago, “He’s one of those people, you meet him, and he’s glowing. The most genuine human ever. He had a lot of stuff ahead of him. I can’t really process it.”
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