A high school senior was killed just weeks before graduation when a suspected drunk driver crashed his car in a Chicago suburb at speeds of more than 190 miles per hour, splitting his car in half.
Shortly after 11 p.m. on May 12, 17-year-old Marko Niketic was driving with his 16-year-old girlfriend in Glenview, Illinois, when their sports car collided at an intersection.
The driver, 21-year-old Taeyong Kim, drove a 2021 Ford Mustang with a passenger from his home in Northbrook to downtown Chicago and back early in the day, according to court records. . Obtained by NBC Chicago.
Glenview Police Department said, “An investigation revealed that on May 12th at 11:08 p.m., Mr. Kim drove his vehicle westbound on East Lake Avenue at a high rate of speed and in a reckless manner. It has been revealed that.”
Kim’s car struck Niketic, who was turning left at the intersection of East Lake Avenue and Meadow Lane, about 20 miles northwest of Chicago.
Kim was passing other cars heading west on Lake Avenue when a motorist noticed Kim speeding and turning off his headlights.
“As Niketic began to turn, Kim’s car entered the intersection at a high rate of speed with its headlights off,” court documents allege. “Just as Mr. Kim was about to enter the intersection, Mr. Kim’s car collided with Mr. Niketic’s car, causing its headlights to come back on.”
The front of Kim’s car hit the driver’s side of Niketic’s car, breaking it in two.
The front half of Niketic’s sedan remained in the road, while the back half crashed through a nearby fence and into a backyard.
Kim’s car, whose dash cam recorded his happy drive, stopped near a tree on the side of the road.
Witnesses at a home near the accident scene immediately called 911 before rushing to the scene and observing Niketic, who appeared to be dead, inside the car, according to Kim’s bail bond court proponent. It is said that he did.
Other witnesses observed Kim sitting in the car and admitted he had been drinking while his passenger lay on the ground bleeding profusely, WMAQ reported.
The boy was pronounced dead at the scene.
His girlfriend and Kim’s passenger were both taken to the hospital in critical condition.
Niketic’s girlfriend, who remains unidentified, suffered a subarachnoid hemorrhage, a cerebral hematoma, a fractured pelvic vertebrae and hyperdensity of the left frontal lobe of the brain with loss of consciousness and seizures.
She was discharged from the hospital on Friday.
Kim’s passenger suffered severe injuries that broke his back and severed an artery in the accident.
Kim suffered a fractured femur, and blood tests revealed that her blood alcohol level was 0.088, and that she had marijuana in her system.
During the investigation, police found a bong, rolling papers, a single-shot marijuana pipe with residue, and two plastic containers containing marijuana residue in Kim’s vehicle.
Kim was arrested Friday and charged with aggravated DUI causing death, reckless homicide, aggravated DUI causing great bodily harm, alcohol DUI, drug DUI, and several counts of traffic, including driving 35 miles per hour over the speed limit. He was charged with a violation.
He appeared in court on Saturday.
Kim is being held without bail and his next court date is scheduled for May 24, according to jail records reviewed by the newspaper.
Niketic’s funeral was held Thursday, two days before prom at his high school, Glenbrook South.
Niketic was scheduled to graduate on June 2nd.
“He’s one of those guys, you meet him and he lights up. He’s the most genuine human being ever,” friend Preston Shute told NBC Chicago. “He had so much going on. It’s too much to process.”
