Adam Grunin, 30, was charged with reckless homicide after her rear-ended a car resulting in the death of a 16-year-old girl
An Illinois high school student was killed on Saturday when a man driving over 100 miles per hour rear-ended her family’s car pushing the vehicle into oncoming traffic.
Authorities said Adam Grunin, 30, had been involved in another accident moments before he crashed his Hyundai Sonata into a Chevrolet Equinox carrying 16-year-old Alyssa Lendino and her family.
Dashcam footage from a truck caught the moment the Lendino’s car went flying into the intersection at Milwaukee Avenue and Hintz Road in Wheeling around 2pm on Saturday. The car was hit by a black pickup truck that was making a left turn.
The force of the crash caused the pickup to spin out of control. The front of the Lendino’s car was completely damaged.
Authorities said Alyssa was killed in the crash and seven people, including her 12-year-old sister and father, were hospitalized with injuries.
Alyssa Lendino, 16, was killed on Saturday in Illinois when Grunin hit her family’s car traveling at 107 miles-per-hour
According to the Daily Herald, Alyssa’s sister Amanda underwent surgery on Wednesday. Assistant Cook County State’s Attorney Maria McCarthy said Amanda suffered fractures to both legs, a shattered pelvis, a fracture to her left clavicle and a large laceration on her left calf.
‘She has undergone several blood transfusions,’ McCarthy said. ‘According to medical personnel, she will have to learn to walk again. She must be custom-fitted for a wheelchair because of her inability to sit properly due to her pelvic injuries’.
Alyssa’s father was in the general surgical unit at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, the same hospital Amanda is receiving care. The teen’s mother received stitches for a forehead injury and has since been released from the hospital.
Grunin was also hospitalized for a fractured wrist and a laceration above the eye. He was arrested after leaving the hospital and remains in custody. His booking photo shows Grunin with a bandage on his forehead and his eye swollen shut.
The force of the crash sent the Lendino’s car into oncoming traffic where it struck a pickup truck. Some of the crash was captured on a truck’s dash camera
Alyssa’s 12-year-old sister and father were seriously injured in the crash. Her mother received stitches for a forehead injury and released from the hospital
Authorities said Grunin was traveling 107mph in a 40mph zone when he rear-ended the Lendino’s vehicle around 2pm on Saturday.
McCarthy said he was fleeing a minor crash in Wheeling when he hit the vehicle and it appears he did not try to brake.
Grunin was not on a mobile device at the time of the crash and toxicology tests showed no alcohol or drugs in his system. His attorney said that Grunin suffers from epilepsy but physicians said he did not suffer an epileptic seizure before the crash.
Friends said Alyssa was going to be a junior at John Hersey High School in Arlington Heights
According to police, Grunin told paramedics that he had worked a night shift at his job before the crash and must have fallen asleep at the wheel. Authorities contacted Grunin’s job and learned that the last time he was at work was on July 18, days before the fatal crash.
The crash is still under investigation. Grunin was charged with reckless homicide and is scheduled to appear in court next month. His bail was set at $300,000 after a judge said Grunin was a flight risk.
Friends said Alyssa would have been a junior at John Hersey High School in Arlington Heights.
‘Alyssa was truly wonderful girl who always had the brightest smile on her face and the kindest heart,’ friends and family said on a GoFundMe to help with the family’s expenses.
‘We wish to ease some of the difficulties that the Lendino family is facing right now by helping to cover any expenses that have arisen. Any amount of money is greatly appreciated and will be going directly to support the Lendino family. Alyssa was a beacon of light in the lives of everyone she met, her family deserves peace at this time’.