A 17-year-old Lyons boy was hospitalized with what was termed a “serious” head injury Monday after the car he was in skidded off the roadway and into a tree in the 200 block of Scottswood Road, Riverside.
Three other teens, all from Lyons, were treated for minor injuries at the scene and were not hospitalized. Meanwhile, the driver, Justin Ritchie, 18, was charged by Riverside police with reckless driving and other traffic offenses after police reported that Ritchie was attempting to “drift” the car-getting it to go forward while sideways-at speeds approaching 50 mph on the winding, wooded street.
Police were called to the scene at 2:43 p.m. and reported seeing a large group of people gathered at the crash site, including two witnesses who told police that Ritchie’s 1998 Acura coupe was traveling at a high rate of speed just prior to the crash.
While Ritchie allegedly told police he was traveling 25 mph on the rain-slicked asphalt, a passenger in the vehicle reportedly said that he saw the car’s speedometer at 50 mph while the car was in third gear. The car then jumped the curb and struck a mature tree on the parkway in front of 246 Scottswood Road.
Acting Police Chief Thomas Weitzel said he had no information on the condition of the teenager who was hospitalized with a head injury.
Back in January, two teenagers were killed in Riverside when a driver reportedly attempting to pass another car on East Burlington Street lost control of her vehicle and hurtled into a tree, splitting the car in half.
Lyons resident Michelle Anguiano, who was 18 at the time of the crash, pleaded not guilty to three counts of aggravated reckless driving and is awaiting trial.
-Bob Uphues