A 21-year-old man appeared in court this weekend accused of fatally killing a 17 year old and injuring two others including at least one other teenager in a suspected drunk driving accident.
Police say Taeyoung Kim drove at speeds of 131 miles an hour in a 35 miles per hour zone in Glenview, Illinois. Investigators believe Kim was under the influence of both alcohol and marijuana.
ABC7 News reports prosecutors say Kim’s own dashcam video shows him driving recklessly. His car collided with one driven by 17-year-old Marko Niketic, killing him and critically injuring two others.
Niketic is a high school senior and died just days before his prom and weeks before his graduation.
“He was a very kind, generous, supportive, family-oriented young boy,” Rev. Dobrivoje Milunovic of Holy Resurrection Serbian Orthodox Cathedral said about Niketic to the Chicago Sun Times. He called him a “good man who had a bright future ahead of him.”
An attorney for Kim stood by the defendant’s parents to express their remorse.
“They feel very horrible about this incident. They’re sick. They’re shell-shocked. Their condolences, as well as Mr. Kim’s condolences, go out to all the victims,” said attorney James Hyun.
Niketic died of his injuries at the scene, reported NBC Chicago. A girl riding with Kim suffered critical injuries as did Niketic’s passenger.
Friends struggled to understand his loss.
“He’s one of those people, you meet him, and he’s glowing. The most genuine human ever,” friend Preston Shute said, holding back tears. “He had a lot of stuff ahead of him. I can’t really process it.”
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