Investigators say a Cary man was driving under the influence of drugs during a crash that killed a 95-year-old man earlier this year in Deer Park.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office Traffic Crash Investigators allege Ryan P. Rinda, 30, of Cary, was under the influence of cocaine and traveling over 50 mph before striking a stopped car on Jan. 13, according to a sheriff’s office news release.
Rinda has been charged by the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office with two counts of aggravated driving under the influence of drugs resulting in death, Class 2 felonies; reckless homicide, a Class 3 felony; and two counts of aggravated DUI while license revoked, Class 4 felonies, according to the release and court records.
Lake County Sheriff’s deputies were responding to a reported stalled vehicle near the intersection of Lake-Cook and Quentin roads the afternoon of Jan. 13 when they received a report of the crash, according to a previous sheriff’s office news release.
The driver of the stalled car, a 95-year-old Palatine man, exited the vehicle and began looking under the front of the vehicle; that’s when it was struck from behind by a 2024 Honda HR-V driven by Rinda, authorities said.
The man, later identified by the Lake County Coroner’s Office as Richard A. Krzysztofiak, was pronounced dead at the scene. A 77-year-old Barrington woman inside his car suffered injuries not believed to be life-threatening.
Rinda and a passenger in his car, a 30-year-old Arlington Heights woman, were also both injured in the crash, officials said.
According to the sheriff’s office, a school bus also was struck in the crash. The driver of the bus was the only occupant and was not injured.
An arrest warrant was issued on April 24, and officers, along with SWAT team members, arrested Rinda Wednesday at his home, according to the release. Rinda was being held in Lake County Jail late Wednesday and was set to appear in court Thursday for a detention hearing, according to Lake County court records.
Other court records in McHenry County show he was convicted of a DUI charge in 2018.