A 17-year-old charged with aggravated DUI in the death of a 25-year-old East Peoria man riding his motorcycle along University Avenue in March has a warrant out for his arrest after failing to appear at a Sept. 5 arraignment hearing.
Cedric D. Kennedy was charged in June with one count of aggravated DUI in the crash that killed Ian Harvey on March 22 at the intersection of North University and West Hudson streets. He had previously been charged with a pair of misdemeanor counts of operating an uninsured motor vehicle causing bodily harm and driving a motor vehicle without having a license or permit, along with failure to reduce speed, failure to obey a stop sign and not having a driver’s license.
According to the initial indictment document obtained by the Journal Star, Kennedy is accused of driving a 2007 Cadillac along North University Street that was involved in a motor vehicle accident that caused Harvey’s death.
In addition, he is also accused of having delta-9 THC in his system at the time of the crash. Delta-9 is the primary psychoactive compound found in marijuana.
Kennedy had been set to appear for arraignment on Sept. 5. However, he failed to appear for the hearing, with a warrant issued for his arrest in Peoria County and the surrounding counties of: Tazewell, Woodford, Fulton, Knox, Stark, Marshall, Putnam and McLean.
He had also failed to appear for an Aug. 20 hearing on the misdemeanor and felony charges.
As of Wednesday morning, the warrant remains in full effect.
Other documents obtained by the Journal Star indicate that Illinois State Police troopers had been seeking a search warrant in order to search Kennedy’s vehicle, a silver 2007 Cadillac Escalade. An affidavit filed with the court says troopers had been looking to retrieve data from the car’s airbag control module, either through taking a picture or removing it from the vehicle.
Police said that on the night of the crash, Kennedy failed to stop at the intersection, striking the right-of-way on North University Street and hitting the motorcycle, turning 180 degrees before fleeing the scene. A third vehicle also hit Harvey after entering the crash scene. The motorcyclist died instantly, according to the Peoria County Coroner’s Office.
Peoria County Coroner Jamie Harwood said Harvey “was wearing full protective gear including a helmet” at the time of the crash.
The search warrant was issued on July 31, the same day that the affidavit and the request were filed with the court.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Arrest warrant issued for teen driver in Peoria crash that killed motorcyclist
Reporting by Zach Roth, Peoria Journal Star / Journal Star
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