Family outraged after teens arrested in deadly Robbins crash involving stolen car released by police

ROBBINS, Ill. (WLS) -- A man was killed over the weekend when a stolen vehicle slammed into his in south suburban Robbins.

Now, the family of 70-year-old Donald Carter Sr. is outraged after the three juveniles suspected of causing the crash were released from police custody to their parents.

The family of Donald Carter Sr. is remembering him after he was killed when teens crashed a stolen Kia, the Robbins Police Department said.

Robbins police say three 13-year-old boys were in a stolen Kia that slammed into Carter's car as he was pulling out of his apartment complex.

Bertha Olawumi said her brother could have been going to watch the Super Bowl when he was killed in the car crash. Now she wants to know why the teens have been released from custody.

"Are they out going to school today?" Olawumi said. "Are they walking around in the community acting like nothing happened? That's not right."

The mayor and police chief of Robbins expressed frustration that they had to release the three juvenile suspects to their parents. By state statute, they said they can only hold juveniles for 24 hours unless prosecutors can bring charges in that time.

Robbins officials gave an update after a man was killed in a crash involving teens driving a stolen car.

"A lot of people don't understand that the police department, we don't make the laws, we can only enforce what Springfield hands down to us," Robbins Police Chief David Sheppard said. "So if Springfield says, hey, in 24 hours, you have to return them to their parents, we have to return them."

They explained at a news conference that the state's attorney's office is still collecting evidence and is not ready to charge them.

Meanwhile, Carter's family is grappling with heartache and anger.

"I blame, at 13, the parents," Carter's nephew Aaron Crutchfield said. "You've gotta know where your kids are. You gotta raise them the right way."

Chief Sheppard shared his thoughts about the need for juvenile justice reform in Cook County.

"Right now, people are not being held accountable for what they are doing," Sheppard said. "And if there's no punishment that deters a person from doing something, then they will continue doing the same activity."

In a statement, the Cook County State's Attorneys' office said they are "committed to the work of justice and will continue to work with the Robbins Police Department to review all available information. At this time, this matter remains the subject of a continuing investigation."