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Hearing continued on hit-and-run

WOODSTOCK, ILL. — A Harvard, Ill., man will face a preliminary hearing next month on charges connected to the hit-and-run crash that killed an Evansville man at a rural Illinois intersection last month.

Twenty-year-old Steven R. Price, of Harvard, Ill., appeared in McHenry County, Ill., court Thursday on felony charges of leaving the scene of a fatal accident and obstructing justice. The state motioned for a continuance, so the preliminary hearing will continue Thursday, May 6.

Police say Price collided March 18 with Christopher M. Schaaf, a 25-year-old cyclist training for an upcoming duathlon. The 2003 graduate and all-conference football player from Evansville recently had earned a master’s degree in architecture from UW-Milwaukee.

Schaaf and his wife, Crystal, moved to Harvard, Ill., earlier this year to pursue job opportunities in the area.

Price and his passenger, Alex G. Walker, 17, Harvard, Ill., initially told authorities they witnessed the crash. They described seeing a black pickup truck flee the scene.

Investigators, local police and fire agencies and community members distributed fliers to community members looking for the black Chevrolet pickup truck Price and Walker described, according to the sheriff’s department.

Authorities received several tips about Price’s alleged deception and found damage to his 2008 Ford F-250 consistent with the collision. After confronting him with the information, Price made incriminating statements, officials said.

Authorities say Price was driving without a license when the crash occurred.

Walker, 17, was arrested on a felony charge of obstructing justice. He is scheduled to appear in court April 22.

Price is free after posting bond.