Teen pleads guilty in fatal accident involving texting
URBANA – A Champaign teen who admitted he was texting at the time he hit a pedestrian in Urbana who later died of his injuries has pleaded guilty.
Young J. Kim, 19, of the 3900 block of Balmoral Drive, pleaded guilty Friday in Champaign County Circuit Court to failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident and texting while driving.
Kim was ticketed in connection with a May 16 accident in the 200 block of West Main Street in downtown Urbana in which he struck Perfecto Perez, 84, of Chicago, as he crossed Main Street from north to south. Mr. Perez had been at the V. Picasso restaurant celebrating a relative's graduation when he left to check on his dog in his car, police said.
He died on May 18 of his injuries at Carle Foundation Hospital.
Kim was fined $1,000 for the failure to reduce speed and $75 for the texting while driving.
Police said earlier that the accident occurred at dusk, that Mr. Perez was not in a crosswalk and that he was wearing dark clothing.
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