(WGTD)---A criminal complaint details the chaos Timothy Vandervere caused on Highway 50 in and around Paddock Lake Friday evening just before he plowed into the back of a Jeep at a high rate of speed, killing three of the vehicle’s four occupants.
The 40-year-old Beach Park, Illinois man made his first court appearance Tuesday. Bond was set at $2 million.
The story as relayed by the criminal complaint begins west of Paddock Lake near County Highway “B.” Driver Ian McKee said a pickup driven by the defendant was swerving in front of him, almost hitting mailboxes and street signs. He said the driver's erratic behavior caused a back-up in traffic.
In Paddock Lake, another driver, Christopher Porter, said he had his two kids in the car when the white pick-up started riding his bumper. The pickup backed off, re-approached, then passed on the left, nearly sideswiping him. Porter dialed 9-1-1 and tried unsuccessfully to follow the vehicle.
Heading out of town, the driver of the offending vehicle apparently gunned it, and seconds later struck the Jeep, pushing it off the road, causing it to land on its roof about 50 yards off the pavement.
The pickup, meanwhile, continued on for a short distance before hitting a curb and going airborne. It crashed through a fence and some small trees before landing in a creek.
The first deputy on the scene said Vandervere appeared to be unconscious, but then started to babble incoherently and had glassy-looking eyes.
In court Tuesday, Vandervere had no visible injuries.
Of the four who were in the Jeep, Michael Rizzo died at the scene. His brother Vincent and Vincent’s wife Mary died later at the hospital.
A third brother, Gerald, the driver, was able to walk out of the wreck, but remains hospitalized with a variety of injuries, according to the complaint.
Although the defendant's brother said Vandervere had been drinking prior to the crash, the results of a blood-alcohol test weren’t available Tuesday, according to the prosecutor.
Vandervere, according to his attorney, is married and has two small children. He’d been employed as the manager of an auto-related business for some 20 years. His record includes a prior conviction of causing injury while intoxicated.
If convicted as charged, Vandervere faces up to 90 years in prison.
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