DUI Driver In Hit-And-Run That Killed Bicyclist, 18, Indicted: Police

LAKE COUNTY, IL — A 33-year-old man accused of driving drunk and hitting a bicyclist with his sports utility vehicle before leaving the scene of the Wadsworth collision in September 2024 has been indicted on felony charges in Lake County.

Alex Landa, of the 700 block of Franklin Avenue in Winthrop Harbor, has been charged with failure to report a crash involving a death, a Class 1 felony; and aggravated DUI causing a death, a Class 2 felony, according to a news release from the Lake County Sheriff's Office. A warrant was issued this past week for his arrest, authorities said.

Landa is accused of running his GMC SUV into the bicyclist, who was later identified as Tiana Smith, 18 of Zion, while she was headed north on Dilleys Road near Wadsworth Road in Wadsworth at about 11:45 p.m. on Sept. 6, 2024. The woman was thrown from her bike.

Smith was found dead in the roadway when sheriff's office deputies arrived at the scene, police said.

She was hit first by Landa's SUV, which then fled the scene with the bicycle still being dragged by it, and then by a Hyundai Elantra, which was driven by a 23-year-old Waukegan man, acceding to authorities.

Police later found the SUV parked at a home in Winthrop Harbor and identified Landa as the suspected driver in the hit-and-run. They also determined Landa had been drinking alcohol prior to the collision, Christopher Covelli, deputy chief with the Lake County Sheriff's Office, told Patch Friday.

Landa was indicted this past week by the Lake County Grand Jury following the "extensive investigation," according to the news release. A Lake County Judge has signed a warrant for Landa's arrest.

Covelli said that as of Friday, Landa is not in custody and police are looking to apprehend him.