Glenview man, 26, charged in September death of construction worker on I-294 near Des Plaines

DES PLAINES, Ill. (WLS) -- A 26-year-old Glenview man was charged in the September death of construction worker Frank Caputo near northwest suburban Des Plaines, the Illinois State Police said Saturday.

Stephen W. Karakosta is accused of driving a black Infiniti into construction lanes at a high rate of speed, hitting Cuputo, a 59-year-old man from Bartlett.

The incident occurred Sept. 14 on I-294. Two lanes just south of the Touhy Avenue exit were closed for construction when the crash happened.

RELATED: Construction worker struck, killed near Des Plaines

Karakosta also struck a large concrete cutting saw and an unoccupied parked construction vehicle with a trailer attached, police said.

Caputo was taken to Lutheran General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Karakosta was also taken to Lutheran General Hospital with non-life threatening injuries. He was treated and released.

Caputo was a father of three adult children who worked as a construction flagger assisting with flow of traffic through the construction area.

He worked for Chicago Cut Concrete Cutting and was not supposed to be working that night. He had come in at the last-minute to fill in.

Karakosta was arrested Friday and charged with aggravated driving under the influence of drugs involving death (Class 2 Felony), reckless homicide (Class 3 Felony), possession of a controlled substance (Class 4 Felony), aggravated speeding (Class A Misdemeanor), failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident (Petty Offense) and improper lane usage (Petty Offense).

Karakosta appeared in bond court on Friday and ordered held without bond. His next court date is Dec. 20 at the Cook County courthouse in Skokie.

He was also arrested on an out-of-state arrest warrant for a parole violation out of Berrien County, Michigan.