Driver was traveling 210 km/h before causing an accident in which a 17-year-old from Illinois died shortly before his graduation: police

A 17-year-old high school student in Illinois will be mourned at his graduation ceremony in June after his vehicle was struck by a drunk driver who was driving “recklessly” too fast, police said.

Taeyoung Kim, 21, is accused of killing Marko Niketic, a 12th-grader at Glenbrook South High School, on Mother's Day, Glenview police said in a news release.

According to police, Kim was charged Friday with two counts of aggravated drunken driving causing death, negligent homicide, aggravated drunken driving causing serious bodily harm, reckless driving, speeding, driving without required lights, driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol, failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident and improper use of the roadway.

The accident occurred around 11 p.m. when Kim, who was driving his vehicle at high speed, collided with Marko's vehicle near an intersection, police said. Marko was pronounced dead at the scene, while the occupants of both vehicles were taken to hospital in critical condition, police said.

Kim was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries, police said. Glenview police are still investigating the accident.

The passenger in Niketic's vehicle was his girlfriend, WFLD reported. She suffered serious injuries, including a brain hemorrhage and a broken pelvis, the Chicago, Illinois-based television station reported.

Marko Niketic was “always smiling”

Glenbrook South High School's graduation ceremony is scheduled for June 2 at the Rosemont Theater in Rosemont, Illinois, according to the school's website.

A spokesperson for Glenbrook High School District 225 told USA TODAY that Marko graduated on June 2. The school district said it “does not comment to the media.”

“(Marko) will be sorely missed by all his Kumovi, family and friends in the United States and Serbia,” the teenager's obituary said.

The Rev. Darko Spasojevic spoke at Marko's funeral on Thursday, saying he was an active and well-liked member of the church, ABC 7 Chicago reported.

“He was always smiling, very open, very smart (and) really gifted,” Spasojevic said, according to ABC 7 Chicago. “One common theme is that he had the energy and charisma to bring kids and people together.”

Taeyoung Kim reached a speed of over 210 km/h

Kim was driving 130 mph with his headlights off before colliding with Marko's vehicle, prosecutors said, according to WFLD. The speed limit in the area where Kim was driving was 35 mph.

During Kim's first court appearance on Saturday, Judge David Kelly called the crash “a fast and furious fatal accident,” WFLD reported. He added that Kim intentionally used his vehicle as a weapon and that his actions showed a “brazen disregard for human life,” the television station said.

Kim's lawyer James Kuhn translated for the 21-year-old's father and said he wanted to “express our sincere apologies and condolences to the families of all the victims.”

“He blames himself a lot as a father, perhaps also for a lack of supervision,” Kuhn said of Kim’s father.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Marko Niketic, a high school student from Glenview, Illinois, was killed in a car crash