Man Charged In Fatal NW Side Hit-And-Run
CHICAGO (STMW) -- The mother of a man killed in a North Side car accident said Wednesday that she's glad the other driver is facing justice on a felony charge of leaving the scene without calling the police.
Alexander Villa, 24, was ordered held in lieu of $200,000 bond in the Nov. 24 wreck that claimed the life of Ivan Miranda, 24. Miranda's brother, Jovani, was injured in the 5:30 a.m. accident in the 3500 block of West Division Street.
"I am very happy," the victims' mother, Elizabeth Rodriguez, said of Villa's arrest. "This will not bring my son back, but at least we can start healing."
She said she and her family plan to be in court for Villa's next hearing.
Villa was caught on a grocery store surveillance camera "limping a few paces and then jogging away" from the crash -- even though his passenger suffered a broken back, assistant Cook County state's attorney Melissa Samp said in court Wednesday.
Villa ran through a red light on Central Park Avenue and "T-boned" his Hyundai Tucson into Ivan Miranda's Saab before both vehicles slammed into an iron fence near a CVS store.
Minutes before, Ivan Miranda had gotten off work after an overnight shift at a North Side Target store and picked up his youngest brother at a friend's house so both could go their Humboldt Park home.
From there, Jovanni Miranda was hoping to take the Saab to his early morning shift at Home Depot.
It took emergency workers 10 minutes to extricate Ivan Miranda from his car. He died at John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County less than an hour later from severe head trauma, Samp said. Jovanni Miranda, 21, suffered injuries to his head, ribs, legs and arms.
Ivan Miranda, a twin and one of four boys, graduated from Wells Community Academy in 2007.
"I have worked really hard to make sure the kids stayed straight," their mother said. "They were good boys. They worked. They didn't hurt people."
During Villa's bond hearing Wednesday, Samp said Villa's DNA matched samples taken from the airbag of the driver's side of the Hyundai and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
Villa, of the 2900 block of West Altgeld Street, turned himself in to police on Tuesday, his lawyer Michael Clancy said.
Villa, who has two children and a third on the way, has a pending felony marijuana case. He also has a pending misdemeanor for reckless conduct.
Clancy said Villa attends Wilbur Wright College and works at the Motorola factory in Schaumburg.
He has one tattoo that says "Jesus" on his neck and another one on his right hand that reads "Money over everything," according to a police report.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2013. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
