An anonymous donor has posted bond for a North Shore teenager accused in a hit-and-run Chicago pedestrian accident that critically injured a fellow student, ABC7 reported.
The 18-year-old allegedly left the scene after striking a 16-year-old girl outside New Trier High School at Green Bay and Winnetka roads. She was stopped by police about half-an-hour later. The victim suffered a brain injury and is in critical condition.
The judge set bail at $500,000, saying the high bail reflected the fact that the accused teenager admitted that she smoked marijuana the night before the crash. Toxicology results are pending, which could affect the case.
The teen’s attorney said there was no way the family could post that kind of a bond. An anonymous donor posted $50,000, the 10 percent required to get the girl released from jail. The family said they do not know the donor. The attorney said the benefactor was horrified by the prospect of the teenager being confined to the Cook County Jail and decided to post the bond.
The girl had been held in the jail’s hospital wing after concerns about housing the 18-year-old North Shore teenager in general population. The Chicago Tribune reported that the woman was the mother of two teenage daughters and felt sympathy for the defendant and her family.
The defendant was required to surrender her passport and must wear an electronic monitoring bracelet. Her attorney noted the girl was an honor student at one of the best schools in the country and expressed concern that the incident could impact the rest of her life.
The state attorney’s office reported that the victim suffered a severe brain injury.
As we reported on our Chicago Car Accident Lawyers Blog, traffic accidents are the leading cause of death for teenagers ages 15 to 19 years old. One in every 7 traffic fatalities nationwide involves a teenager, leading to more than 5,000 deaths a year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Another 250,000 teenagers are seriously injured each year in car accidents, pedestrian accidents and other traffic crashes.