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NewsMonday, October 15, 2007 11:06 PM CDT
Teen pleads guilty to charge in highway death of Peoria woman
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PEORIA -- A 15-year-old boy charged with murder for dropping a concrete block from a highway overpass and killing a 26-year-old woman has pleaded guilty to a reduced charge.

Rakiem Campbell pleaded guilty to vehicular endangerment in the death of Katrina Kelley of Peoria. He also pleaded guilty to a rash of other crimes -including arson and aggravated battery -and was sentenced to 22 years in prison.

Peoria County prosecutors dropped murder charges against Campbell in exchange for his guilty pleas.

According to prosecutors, Campbell told police he hoisted the foot-long landscaping brick onto Interstate 74 but didn’t mean to hurt anyone.

Kelley died after suffering massive chest injuries when the brick hit the car in which she was a passenger.

(Thanks Jim Garrott, WEEK-TV, Peoria)

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Reader comments on this story - 12 total

Note: All views and opinions expressed in reader comments are solely those of the individual submitting the comment, and not those of the Pantagraph or its staff.

LakYla wrote on Jan 24, 2008 11:18 AM:

" Rakiem octavious cambpell a boy who grew up in a loveing and careing family!
rakiem was not a boy who i didnt expected to do this. I growing up with the family is a totally different situation when he made the stupid decision of doing this!
i Hope he learns his lesson. Even tho i miss him dearly he needs to learn his lesson. I am so Very sorry to the parents of her. Rakiem baby you need to grow up! We miss you, but what you did was insane! I never expected that from you! "

brittany wrote on Jan 15, 2008 1:03 PM:

" i feel for the family that lost a loved one but i also feel for his family to and yall know that if your child was to do something like that you would feel hurt because they made a bad desishion that they now have to pay for but just because he made a bad desishion that does not make him a bad kid we all do things without thinking them through first. so leave it alone and make sure your hands are clean before you start pointing fingures!!!!! "

Its too bad wrote on Oct 17, 2007 11:03 AM:

" U are right, MY BAD I missed the part where they said all the other stuff he did, but still a parents worst nightmare! I feel VERY sorry for the family of the girl. It is all so tragic! Thanks for the "your not too bright" comment and yes for doing all those things he is an idiot! and he should go away for a LONG< LONG time, hopefully its not some mental problem that his family has over looked because of not wanting to trouble themselves with it. But I can so see how you think the me being dumb was relevent! I am so sure you, yourself have NEVER done anything so silly as to over look something! But it was nice of you to assume that I am just "not too smart" instead of just asking hey did you see this or that. thanks! :) "

What the wrote on Oct 17, 2007 6:55 AM:

" is this kidd going to be out in two years for being a good boy? "

Another Thug Off The Streets wrote on Oct 16, 2007 5:57 PM:

" thats what we have here. I am sorry for the victims family and I am disappointed this guy did not get another 10 years for the arson. This is definetly one of those kids who just don't get it. Well hopefully he will have enough birthdays in stir that he will be humbled and changed when he sees daylight again. "

Meg wrote on Oct 16, 2007 1:41 PM:

" Good! I'm glad this boy was actually caught and is paying for what he did. We were all 15 once, but I'd venture to say that very few of us were truly that stupid. He is not the victim here. "

Bon to 'it's too bad' wrote on Oct 16, 2007 1:10 PM:

" you're not too bright are you. this little idiot only gets 22 yrs in the slammer. and he's gonna be out in 10 i bet. i don't care how young he is, he knew what he was doing. this is/was not the first 'mistake' he made, read the article. "

To: its to bad wrote on Oct 16, 2007 12:24 PM:

" One bad choice? Read the article, it sounds like he made more then one bad choice. What about the Arson and Aggravated Battery? "

Its too bad wrote on Oct 16, 2007 12:10 PM:

" meaning that you have no idea what this kid was thinking. thats what i mean. it could have been one of those adolecent "dare you to's" maybe he was NOT thinking, teenagers are known for that. this is very tragic and my heart goes out to the family of the lost, but at the same time this kid just ruined his life, his parents MUST be devistated! i was not making light of what he did, but obviously this was not a premeditated wanted to kill the girl, it was dumb and tragic and took a life well it took two really cause his will be over now! thats all i was saying! "

Maybe even ruin his life?!?!? wrote on Oct 16, 2007 11:09 AM:

" What about the life he stole? "

baron wrote on Oct 16, 2007 11:05 AM:

" a foot long brick,thrown from a bridge,at a moving vehicle! he knew exactly what he was doing. he didn't think it would hurt or KILL somebody? "

Its too bad wrote on Oct 16, 2007 9:57 AM:

" that this one bad choice could make such huge changes in his life, maybe even ruin his life forever! ONE bad choice not even meant to hurt anyone! very sad, this is a parents worst nightmare!!! :( "

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