A 36-year-old Tinley Park man charged in a car crash last month in Orland Park that killed three people pleaded not guilty Wednesday in Cook County Circuit Court in Bridgeview.
James Billis, of the 17300 block of Oketo Avenue, was charged with three counts of reckless homicide and one count of drunken driving in connection with the July 3 accident, in which an allegedly stolen car crashed into a guardrail, then plunged into a drainage ditch on Wolf Road near 141st Street, police said.
Killed in the accident were Terrence Heidegger, 24, of Orland Township; Erin Hitch, 21, of Lockport; and Richard Tracy, 23, of Orland Park.
According to police, Billis had a blood-alcohol level of more than twice the state’s 0.08 legal limit. Police said Billis was northbound on Wolf Road when an officer clocked him at 65 m.p.h. in a 45 m.p.h. zone.
Police said Billis sped through a red light at 147th Street. Police gave chase but reportedly backed off when the chase entered a residential area.
Billis was seriously injured in the crash, suffering skull fractures and broken bones.
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