Richmond teen charged with DUI in crash turns himself in, released from jail pretrial

A Richmond teen charged with DUI in connection with a truck crash in December that sent him and another teen to the hospital turned himself in at the McHenry County jail early Thursday.

Nathan Madula, 19, appeared in a hearing Thursday afternoon where Judge Carl Metz granted Madula’s pretrial release with conditions. Metz said Madula is not to have any contact of an abusive or harassing nature with the 18-year-old who was his passenger the night of the crash. The pair also are not allowed to discuss the case.

Initially, Assistant State’s Attorney Julio Cantre asked that Madula have no contact with the 18-year-old passenger, but George Kililis, Madula’s defense attorney, explained that the two are “very close friends.”

Metz also ordered Madula to refrain from drinking alcohol or using any drugs that are not prescribed and participate in a drug and alcohol evaluation. He is to submit to screens for any prohibited substances, cannot leave the state without permission from the court and will be under the supervision of probation, Metz said.

The judge read Madula his charges and potential penalties. He is charged with two counts of aggravated DUI involving a motor vehicle crash causing great bodily harm or permanent disability or disfigurement, Class 4 felonies. He also is charged with underage consumption of liquor, driving too fast for conditions or failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident, improper lane usage, crossing lane boundary unsafely, and not safely wearing a seat belt, according to the judge and criminal complaint filed Wednesday in the McHenry County court.

If convicted on a Class 4 felony, the sentence could range from probation to four years in prison.

At about 6:45 p.m. Dec. 13, Madula was driving a 2003 Ford truck north near the 4900 block of Route 47 near Woodstock when the truck crossed into the southbound lane for unknown reasons, went into a ditch and came to a stop next to a house, authorities said. Both Madula and his 18-year-old passenger were ejected from the car, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office at the time of the crash.

According to the complaint, Madula was under the influence of alcohol and tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the active ingredient in cannabis. Both teens were flown to hospitals in critical condition, reports at the time said. Both have since recovered.

Madula is due back in court July 25.