Illinois man pleads guilty in racing crash that killed 2 college students

A northern Illinois man pleaded guilty Thursday to felony aggravated street racing for his role in a 2021 street racing crash that killed two Judson University students.

In exchange for Kahleel Steele’s guilty plea, reckless homicide charges the DeKalb man had faced were dropped, The (Arlington Heights) Daily Herald reported.

Steele, 24, entered a cold plea, meaning there is no agreement on a sentence. His attorney and the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office are still negotiating his sentence. If they cannot agree, a judge will decide his sentence at an April hearing.

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Prosecutors said Steele and Trevon Morris of Elgin, Illinois, were racing on the night of April 20, 2021, when Morris’ car, traveling at more than 91 mph, hit a car carrying four Judson University students that was turning to enter the school’s Elgin campus.

Dallas Colburn, 22, of Plano, Illinois, and Nathanael Madison, 22, of Wernersville, Pennsylvania, died and the two other students were injured. Colburn and Madison were seniors studying architecture and were due to graduate in May 2021.

Morris was sentenced to 12 years in prison in December after pleading guilty to aggravated driving under the influence of cannabis, causing death.