Reckless Homicide Charge Filed In Crash That Killed 82-Year-Old Man

CREST HILL, IL — A 20-year-old was charged with two felonies this week in connection with a September 2016 crash that killed an 82-year-old man and injured his 76-year-old wife. According to police reports, Dwayne Griffin was driving 60 or 70 mph — potentially twice the posted speed limit — when he lost control of his Nissan Altima on the Larkin Avenue curve near Knapp Drive on Sept. 6, 2016. He crashed head-on into a Lexus ES 330 driving by Stewart McCutcheon, who was taken to Adventist Bolingbrook Hospital and died in the emergency room.

Taisy McCutcheon, listed in Stewart McCutcheon's obituary as his wife, was injured and also taken to the Bolingbrook hospital. Griffin was ejected from his vehicle and injured, according to the crash report.

According to court records, Griffin was initially charged with not driving on the right side of the road, window treatment violation, seat belt violation, improper lane use and failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident. Those charges were dropped in October. (Get Patch real-time email alerts for the latest news for Joliet— or your neighborhood. And iPhone users: Check out Patch's new app.)

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New charges of reckless homicide and aggravated reckless driving were filed Monday, according to court records. Griffin, whose address was listed in Romeoville in jail booking records but in Joliet in court documents, was arrested Tuesday and released Wednesday after posting $5,000 of his $50,000 bond.

Court records also show that Romeoville police arrested Griffin on a charge of driving 21-25 mph over the speed limit on May 21. That case is still pending. He is due in Will County court for the fatal crash case on July 27. Court records did not list an attorney.

McCutcheon's obituary lists him as a U.S. Navy and Korean War veteran, father of seven, grandfather of 23 and great-grandfather of 13, with four more on the way at the time of his death. He was the founder of McCutcheon Insurance Agency in Mokena and a prominent member of Mokena Area Business Community, according to the obituary.

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Dwayne Griffin/Will County Sheriff's Office