Teen Football Player Was on the Phone With His Dad When Drunk Driver Crashed Into Him at 96 MPH — Now the Driver Is Sentenced

A heartbreaking phone call between a father and his teenage son ended in a tragedy that would change their family forever. On August 26, 2021, 16-year-old Mason Hada was heading home from football practice in Rockford, Illinois, when a speeding driver allegedly under the influence slammed into his vehicle. Mason’s father, LeRoy Hada, was still on the phone with him when the crash happened. What he heard in those final moments would remain an unbearable memory.

According to reports, Mason was speaking with his father over the car’s speakerphone when the conversation suddenly stopped. LeRoy then heard the sound of a crash, followed by breaking glass and screeching tires. He repeatedly tried calling his son, but there was no response. When he rushed to the scene, he found chaos unfolding around the wreckage. Emergency responders had to cut Mason out of the vehicle, but the teenager was pronounced dead at the scene. His father later recalled the devastating moment in an emotional interview, describing how he had heard the collision happen while still connected to his son.

Investigators identified the driver as Deahri Steele, who was 18 at the time of the crash. According to testimony later presented in court, Steele had been driving as fast as 96 mph shortly before the collision. Authorities also said he was under the influence of alcohol. Rather than remain in Illinois to face the case, Steele fled the state after the crash. His disappearance led to a search that eventually ended in Detroit, Michigan, where U.S. Marshals arrested him on December 9, 2022. He was then extradited to Winnebago County, Illinois, to face the charges.

The case took years to reach its latest development. Steele ultimately pleaded guilty to reckless homicide and aggravated driving under the influence resulting in death, accepting responsibility through his guilty pleas for the fatal crash. On November 5, 2026, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison for reckless homicide and five years and six months for aggravated DUI resulting in death. The sentences will run concurrently, meaning he will serve them at the same time. He also received credit for approximately four years already spent in the Winnebago County Jail.

For Mason’s family, the sentence brings a legal conclusion to a case that began with a devastating loss. The teenager had been a student and football player at Rockford East High School, with a future that his loved ones never got to see unfold. His death also prompted his parents to advocate for a traffic signal at the intersection where the crash occurred, hoping that changes could help prevent another family from experiencing the same kind of tragedy. Mason was just 16, and the phone call that should have been an ordinary conversation on the way home became the last time his father would hear his voice.

Source: https://lawandcrime.com/crime/16-year-old-football-star-was-on-the-phone-with-dad-when-drunk-driver-doing-60-miles-over-the-speed-limit-killed-him/