Overview
- Authorities say Tynesha McCarty-Wroten, 43, was booked into the Lake County jail on counts of reckless homicide (Class 3) and aggravated use of an electronic communication device (Class 4).
- Investigators preserved a screen-recorded TikTok livestream and, after search warrants and analysis of her phone, verified the video matched the crash time.
- Surveillance footage and MCAT reconstruction indicate her vehicle entered the Zion intersection on a red light at near the 35 mph limit without slowing before striking Darren Lucas, 59, on Nov. 3.
- After prosecutors approved charges, officers detained McCarty-Wroten as she left home with packed bags; a first court appearance is pending as the case advances to prosecution.
- TikTok cooperated with data requests, the driver initially called 911 and stayed at the scene, and Lucas’s family—now fundraising for his widow—was notified and expressed relief at the arrest.