More than fifteen months after a blue Ford slammed into a red Chevy on West Lake Street, killing a 22-year-old passenger, Chicago police have charged the man accused of causing the crash. Kahalil Payne, 21, was arrested Monday and hit with one felony count of reckless homicide with a motor vehicle and two felony counts of aggravated reckless driving causing bodily harm.
According to CBS News, Payne appeared at a detention hearing Tuesday following his arrest. Chicago police said he was identified as the suspect in a crash that happened around 4 a.m. on July 27, 2025, near the 3800 block of West Lake Street in East Garfield Park, a case that had sat without criminal charges since the night it happened.
Police told ABC7 Chicago that the crash occurred at about 3:50 a.m. when the driver of the blue Ford allegedly disregarded a traffic signal and crashed into the red Chevy sedan. One of the passengers in the Ford, a 22-year-old man, later died at the hospital from his injuries, police said.
Three Others Hurt, Chevy Occupants Refused Treatment
The crash left several other people hurt or shaken. Per the same ABC7 account, three other 20-year-old men in the Ford were taken to area hospitals, though the extent of their injuries was not released by police at the time. The Chevy's 37-year-old driver and her 35-year-old passenger refused medical services at the scene, according to that report.
Other outlets covering the crash in its immediate aftermath offered slightly different counts of who was hospitalized. The Chicago Tribune reported that all three surviving 20-year-olds in the Ford, including the driver, were taken to Stroger Hospital in fair condition, while the Chicago Sun-Times described the driver and two other 20-year-old passengers being taken there with unspecified injuries. Hoodline’s own coverage at the time said two 20-year-old passengers were taken to Stroger Hospital in fair condition, and separately reported that the Chevy’s 37-year-old driver and 35-year-old passenger had refused medical attention at the scene.
Charges Came Months After Citations Were Pending
In the days following the crash, police said citations were pending, and the Sun-Times reported that charges remained pending as investigators worked the case. It would be more than a year before Payne was taken into custody and formally charged.
Chicago police said they had no further information immediately available following Payne’s detention hearing Tuesday. The case marks a significant escalation from the traffic citations initially anticipated after the crash to felony charges carrying the weight of a homicide count.
