Perla Tejeda,Anthony Alexander Hernandez Obituary, Death; – The second of two siblings, both teenagers, has been named following their deaths in a crash attributed to a driver who was reportedly over four times the legal blood alcohol limit in McHenry.
The McHenry Police Department, along with the McHenry Township Fire Protection District, responded at approximately 12:30 a.m. on Monday to the vicinity of Route 31, also referred to as Richmond Road, and McCullom Lake Road, due to a vehicle collision resulting in injuries.
According to McHenry Deputy Police Chief Thomas Walsh, officers arrived on the scene to discover a three-vehicle accident.
An initial investigation revealed that a red 2006 Audi A4 was traveling south on Richmond Road at a high speed. The Audi ran a red light and collided with a black 2015 Nissan Sentra, which was in the process of turning left onto McCullom Lake Road at the intersection, as stated by Walsh.
The impact also resulted in a 2003 Toyota Echo being hit. The Toyota was unoccupied and had been parked in a lot located in the 1800 block of Richmond Road. Walsh reported that the Nissan had two occupants, a 19-year-old woman and a 14-year-old boy. Both individuals were declared dead at the scene by the McHenry County Coroner’s Office.
On Tuesday, McHenry County Coroner Dr. Michael Rein identified the female victim as Perla Tejeda, 19, from McCullom Lake.
Rein did not disclose the identity of the 14-year-old boy, only mentioning that he was also a resident of McCullom Lake. Family members identified him as Anthony Alexander Hernandez. The two teenagers were siblings. Autopsies conducted on Tejeda and Hernandez indicated that both succumbed to blunt force trauma resulting from the accident.
McHenry Township Fire Protection District Battalion Chief Chris Kozel stated that two of the victims were located on the ground, while the third victim was trapped in his vehicle and required extrication.
The driver of the Audi, identified as Jason K. Land, 18, from Fox River Grove, was taken to Northwestern Medicine Hospital McHenry with serious injuries, according to Walsh.
Kozel noted that Land, the only occupant of the Audi, was in critical but stable condition.
The McHenry County Regional Crash Assistance Team responded to the scene to assist in the investigation.
The team consists of police officers from the McHenry Police Department, Woodstock Police Department, Spring Grove Police Department, Harvard Police Department, Cary Police Department and Johnsburg Police Department.
Court records show Land was charged Monday afternoon with two counts of aggravated driving under the influence causing a crash involving death, a Class 2 felony, and four counts of driving under the influence, a Class A misdemeanor.
He was also cited for failing to reduce speed to avoid a crash.
