In a move that may close a chapter in the car accident that killed three northwest suburban teenagers, a 15-year-old Mt. Prospect boy pleaded guilty Tuesday to three counts of reckless homicide.
Lawyers representing the youth, Neil Lawlor, and the Cook County State`s Attorney`s Office agreed that Lawlor ought to serve five years of probation for recklessly driving a car Nov. 9 in an accident in which three 14-year-old girls died.
Prosecutors also recommened that Lawlor perform an undetermined amount of community service and submit to psychological, drug and alcohol counseling.
But those are only recommendations, which Associate Judge Julia Dempsey will consider April 2 when she sentences the youth. Under the juvenile delinquency petition in which he is charged, the boy could face confinement to a juvenile detention center until age 21.
Dempsey on Tuesday ordered that Lawlor be placed under house detention until sentencing, according to prosecutors. That means he can`t leave home without adult supervision except to go to school, work, or church.
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Also Tuesday, Cook County State`s Atty. Jack O`Malley said for the first time that ”the blood alcohol tests done on the defendant after the accident demonstrate he was substantially below the legal limit” of .10.
Authorities had been saying the boy had been drinking but would not disclose the blood-alcohol test results.
When he was charged with reckless homicide late last month, prosecutors said three factors were considered: He was too young to drive, he was too young to drink and he was driving at more than 40 m.p.h. in a 20-m.p.h. zone. The boy`s case had been scheduled for a status hearing Tuesday afternoon, but when he walked into the Rolling Meadows courtroom he entered his guilty plea.
James McDermott, the father of Meggan McDermott, who died after spending a week in a coma after the crash, said he believed Lawlor`s plea was the
”beginning” of a resolution to the tragedy.
McDermott said his family had ”expected” Lawlor`s guilty plea.
”I don`t think there was any alternative to it. The facts were very cut and dry,” he said.
McDermott also said he had no opinion on the state`s attorney`s recommendation.
”It is strictly a recommendation. The judge still has to decide,” he said.
The families of Emily Serafin, 14, of Arlington Heights, and Kate Conlon, 14, of Mt. Prospect, both of whom died in the accident, refused to comment on the case.
Authorities said Lawlor and some other youths had been drinking at the Conlons` house before the crash, but the girls who died apparently were not aware of it. Conlon`s parents were not home at the time.
After charges were filed against Lawlor, Mt. Prospect police said they hoped it would send a strong message to the community. But O`Malley, on Tuesday, said that wasn`t necessarily the intent of his office`s
recommendation.
”When you deal with a terrible tragedy like this, I`m not so sure our decision of what to do is guided by a message,” he said. ”More important than any message is the fact that we have three children who lost their lives and a young man who is responsible for that.”
But O`Malley added: ”I felt very strongly that this young man had to accept responsibility, and there had to be some fixing of accountability for this.”
In preparing the recommendation, prosecutors listened to the victims`
families and police officers involved in the case. ”There were some people who felt we should treat this young man more harshly,” and others who felt he deserved lighter punishment, O`Malley said.
Freshman Ron Alerta, a friend of Lawlor`s, said he talked to Lawlor in the weight room at Prospect High School on Tuesday.
”He`s been himself . . . but you know every night he`s thinking about it,” said Alerta, 15, of Mt. Prospect. ”It`s hard for him to deal with, but it`s good he faced up to it. By pleading guilty, he`s facing up to what happened.”
Inspired by the Mt. Prospect crash, a state legislator who represents the area has proposed a package of anti-drinking-and-driving bills that includes creation of a separate .04 blood-alcohol limit for minors.
Asked about his stance on the proposal by Rep. David Harris (R-Arlington Heights), O`Malley said he would gladly support it.
”Any time a juvenile is caught drinking and driving, irrespective of how much alcohol they have been drinking, they ought to lose their license,”
O`Malley said. ”I will support any legislation that would impose sanctions on juveniles who drink and drive at any level.”
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