Man Brought From Korea To Face Trial For Fatal DUI After 17 Years On Run
ROLLING MEADOWS, Ill. (STMW) -- A man who fled to Korea 17 years ago while on trial for killing a northwest suburban woman in a DUI crash has been extradited and is being held without bond in the Cook County Jail.
Kyung Ho Song, 75, was extradited to the United States from South Korea and taken into custody by the Cook County Sheriff's Central Warrant Unit when he arrived at O'Hare Airport on Wednesday, according to a statement from Bartlett police.
On Oct. 11, 1996, Song charged with aggravated DUI and and reckless homicide for causing an accident that killed one person and injured two others as they pushed a disabled vehicle along the side of a Bartlett street, police said.
Police said Song was impaired while driving a white 1993 Oldsmobile westbound on U.S. 20/Lake Street near Route 59 and rear-ended the disabled station wagon. Three of the car's passengers were pushing it at the time of the accident.
Sonia Naranjo, 43, died at the scene and two other passengers were hospitalized.
But during his trial, Song flew to Korea to escape prosecution, police said. He remained on the run until Dec. 11, 2013, when ICE Homeland Security agents and the Korean authorities arrested him on a U.S. provisional arrest warrant, police said. The Korean Ministry of Justice then authorized extradition to Illinois, where he will again stand trial.
At a hearing Wednesday in Rolling Meadows, Song was ordered held without bond, and his next court date was set for April 15.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2014. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)