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Teenage Girl Struck, Killed By Vehicle In Joliet

JOLIET, Ill. (STMW) -- A man is facing charges after the vehicle he was driving struck and killed a teenage girl in southwest suburban Joliet on Friday.

John Severson, 59, is charged with a felony count of failure to report an accident or injury, according to the Will County Sheriff's office website. He also faces misdemeanor counts of failure to reduce speed, violating a driver's license restriction, operating an uninsured motor vehicle.

Severson was driving south on Pheasant Run Road in Joliet when the vehicle hit a 14-year-old girl as she was crossing Route 53, Angus said. She ended up in a ditch near a median by that intersection, Angus said.

Severson drove off after hitting the girl but returned as police investigated the scene, Angus said. Officers arrested him at that time. It was unclear how officers were alerted about the accident.

It did not appear Severson was intoxicated with alcohol or drugs at the time of the accident, Angus said.

The girl, who was steps away from her home in the 20 block of Pheasant Run, was taken to Loyola Medical Center in Maywood, where she was pronounced dead at 7:20 p.m., according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's office.

She was taken to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, where she died at 7:20 p.m., authorities said.

An autopsy performed Sunday found the girl died of multiple injuries from a motor vehicle striking a pedestrian and her death was ruled an accident.

Severson was ordered held on a $50,000 bond and will next appear at the Will County Circuit Court in Joliet on June 19, according to Angus and the Will County Sheriff's office website.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2014. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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