ROLLING MEADOWS, Ill. - A suburban Chicago man who police said was driving at 107 mph (172 kilometers per mile) when he struck another car, killing a 16-year-old girl, has been convicted of reckless homicide.
A jury in Rolling Meadows deliberated for less than one hour late Friday before convicting Adam Grunin, 32, in Alyssa Lendino's death. He was also convicted of aggravated reckless driving for serious injuries the teen's 12-year-old sister, Amanda, suffered that required her to undergo four surgeries and learn to walk again.
The crash also seriously injured the Mount Prospect siblings' parents.
Grunin’s attorney had blamed the July 21, 2018, crash on a seizure. But Assistant Cook County State's Attorney Shilpa Patel said during closing arguments that Grunin's “conscious disregard" had changed lives “in an instant" and killed Alyssa Lendino.
Police said Grunin's car was traveling about 107 mph (172 kilometers per mile) when it struck the Lendino family's car, which was slowing as it approached a stoplight at an intersection.
Prosecutors said Grunin, of Wheeling, was fleeing another crash that had occurred moments earlier. He's scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 19.