A 16-year-old driver is facing reckless homicide charges after he plowed into a tree, killing his 15-year-old passenger and injuring two other teen girls last month on the Southwest Side, officials said.
The boy, who is not being identified because of his age, was arrested Thursday and charged with reckless homicide with a motor vehicle in the death of Dreanna Jackson, Chicago police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office said.
Officers saw the boy speeding in a stolen Toyota Corolla without headlights March 9. He lost control of the car and hit a tree in the 6800 block of South California Avenue, police said.
Jackson, who was a passenger in the vehicle, was taken to Holy Cross Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 4:32 a.m., the medical examiner’s office said. An autopsy the next day determined she died of multiple injuries from the crash.
Another 15-year-old girl who also was in the vehicle suffered a broken arm, and a 16-year-old girl suffered an injury to her head. Both were taken to Comer Children’s Hospital, police said. The older girl was in serious condition.