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Prosecutor: Don’t let man charged with reckless homicide in Halloween bus crash keep driving

By Susan Sarkauskas - Daily Herald Media Group
Emil Grace Diewald

Grace Diewald, 20, and Emil Diewald, 19, were killed in a crash with a school bus on Oct. 31, 2022, near Campton Hills. (Courtesy of GoFundMe)

A Kane County prosecutor has asked that a man charged with killing two people in a crash be forbidden from driving while his case is heard.

Assistant State’s Attorney David Belshan is seeking to modify the terms under which Tyler Schmidt, 18, was released on bond.

Tyler A. Schmidt was charged felony aggravated driving under the influence; felony reckless homicide; felony aggravated driving under the influence of drugs causing great bodily harm; felony aggravated reckless driving; lesser offenses of failing to reduce his speed to avoid a crash, speeding over the posted limit and failure to stop before reaching a school bus.

Tyler A. Schmidt was charged felony aggravated driving under the influence; felony reckless homicide; felony aggravated driving under the influence of drugs causing great bodily harm; felony aggravated reckless driving; lesser offenses of failing to reduce his speed to avoid a crash, speeding over the posted limit and failure to stop before reaching a school bus. (Photo provided by Kane County Sheriff’s Office)

Schmidt, of the 43W000 block of Southgate Road in Plato Township, is charged with reckless homicide in the Oct. 31 deaths of siblings Grace and Emil Diewald. They were passengers in the SUV Schmidt was driving on Empire Road near Campton Hills when he rear-ended a stopped school bus that was dropping off a Lily Lake Grade School student.

The criminal charges filed against him allege that he was under the influence of cannabis and was speeding when he hit the bus. Besides reckless homicide, Schmidt also is charged with speeding, aggravated driving under the influence of drugs and aggravated reckless driving.

Schmidt was released from jail Thursday after a relative posted $10,000 bond. He is on electronic home monitoring but allowed to leave the house to go to work, school, medical appointments, counseling, legal appointments, religious services or do community service.

He is prohibited from ingesting alcohol or cannabis. Schmidt is subject to random drug and alcohol testing.

The bond order also allows him to drive if he has a valid license. Schmidt does.

Schmidt appeared at a court hearing Friday. During the hearing, his attorneys sought clarification about what hours Schmidt could leave the house and if he has a curfew.

“The bottom line is this EHM condition is not really going to stop that (driving under the influence). That’s not really addressing the public safety concern,” Belshan told Judge David Kliment.

“I’m not concerned about what time he is driving,” he said. “I am concerned he is driving at all.”

Belshan also asked that Schmidt be ordered to undergo a substance abuse evaluation and participate in any treatment programs recommended by the evaluator.

Kliment will rule on the request on Jan. 20.

https://www.dailyherald.com/news/20230106/prosecutor-dont-let-man-charged-with-reckless-homicide-in-bus-crash-keep-driving

Kane County