Police charged a 19-year-old man with reckless driving after he was accused of speeding onto a lawn during an underage drinking party and hitting three teenagers, giving one a serious spinal-cord injury.
The incident occurred about 11:20 p.m. Saturday outside a home at 928 Elmwood Lane in Elk Grove Village where a 19-year-old was throwing a party for about 30 people while his parents were away, police said.
Police also charged, Jeffrey Jost, who is alleged to have been the party’s host, with illegal possession of alcohol by a minor, according to Police Deputy Chief Larry Hammer.
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A fight erupted outside the home when Jost asked a group of unwanted visitors to leave the party, police said.
One of the visitors, Ruben A. Lares, 21, of Morris Avenue in Hillside, swung a bat during the scuffle, missing his intended victim, police said.
Lares then jumped into a 1990 Cadillac driven by a companion, Domingo G. Hernandez, 19, of Hamilton Avenue in Bensenville, who started to pull away from the house, police said.
Hernandez allegedly drove the Cadillac onto the lawn of the home and hit three teenagers standing there before speeding away, police said.
Police stopped the car a few blocks away and charged Hernandez with three counts of reckless driving, one count of failure to render aid to an injured person during an accident, and one count of improperly backing onto the roadway.
Police charged Lares with aggravated assault for swinging the baseball bat.
Critically injured by the car was Elizabeth Sitarz, 19, of Des Plaines, who was transported to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood with a spinal injury. She remained in critical condition Sunday afternoon, said hospital spokesman Michael Maggio.
Also hurt was Farrah Focht, 19, of Des Plaines, who was taken to Alexian Brothers Medical Center in Elk Grove Village, where she was treated and released.
A 19-year-old man, whom police refused to identify, was hurt but declined medical treatment.
Jost’s father, Joseph Jost, confirmed on Sunday that he was not home during the party but refused to discuss the incident.
A friend of Hernandez’s who refused to identify himself said that things got out of hand when Jost asked Hernandez and his friends to leave.
A brawl erupted on the front lawn, and kids threw rocks and bottles at Hernandez’s Cadillac as he tried to drive away, Hernandez’s friend said.
The friend said Hernandez was trying to drive to the police station when police pulled him over and arrested him.