Man Accused of Fleeing Accident Pleads Not Guilty

Part-time nightlife event planner Philip Cho, 28, of Naperville, pleaded not guilty Friday for allegedly failing to report an accident with injuries. | Cook County Sheriff

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The driver accused of fleeing a September car crash that partially paralyzed a passenger pleaded not guilty Friday to failing to report an accident with injuries and other charges, the Chicago Tribune reported.

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Philip Cho, 28, of the 900 block of Amberwood Circle in Naperville, is facing charges of speeding, failing to report an accident with injuries and failing to notify authorities of damage to an unattended vehicle after he allegedly flipped his BMW early on Sept. 13 in the 700 block of West Erie Street in Chicago, the report stated.

The crash left three of the car’s passengers seriously injured. Kelsey Ibach, 30, of Arlington Heights, was paralyzed from the waist down, one passenger needed his thumb reattached, and another suffered broken ribs and three broken vertebrae.

READ: Naperville Man Accused of Not Reporting Accident With Injuries

After the crash, Cho allegedly told the hurt passengers still in the flipped vehicle to tell police the accident was the result of a carjacking. Cho then allegedly fled the scene and didn’t turn himself in until Sept. 20.

Along with the criminal charges, Cho also faces civil action from Ibach and the injured passengers, who filed a lawsuit against Cho, claiming his drunken driving caused the accident. The Mid, 306 N. Halsted, and Hubbard House Inn, 110 W. Hubbard in Chicago, also are named in the suit as the places where Cho allegedly was drinking with the passengers before the crash.

READ: Woman Paralyzed in Crash Files Lawsuit Against Naperville Man

Cho is scheduled to be back in court Oct. 23.