The Murder of Darren Lucas
| Full Name | Darren Lucas |
| Age | 59 |
| Home | Beach Park, Illinois |
| Occupation | Grocery Worker -- Torres Fresh Market |
| Case Type | Vehicular Homicide -- Distracted Driving |
Darren Lucas
Darren Lucas was 59 years old. He lived in Beach Park, Illinois, and worked at Torres Fresh Market in Zion, a grocery store just up the road from where he died. On the evening of November 3, 2025, he finished his shift and began walking home. It was a route he had taken before. He never made it.
A coworker at Torres Fresh Market described learning of his death as devastating. She told reporters she was still devastated weeks later. Darren was a working man going home after a day of work. He was crossing the street. He had every right to be there. He had every right to get home safely.
Darren Lucas did not die because of a random accident. He died because another person chose to pick up a phone while driving and was not paying attention to the road in front of her. That is a choice. Choices have consequences. We will say his name.
What We Know
At approximately 5:46 p.m. on November 3, 2025, Darren Lucas finished his shift at Torres Fresh Market in Zion, Illinois, and began walking home to Beach Park. He attempted to cross Sheridan Road at the intersection with 33rd Street, directly across from his workplace. Tynesha McCarty-Wroten, 43, was driving southbound on Sheridan Road in a 2015 Ford Edge. Surveillance footage from nearby businesses showed the traffic light was red when she drove through the intersection. McCarty-Wroten did not slow or change course before striking Darren. He was hit and rendered immediately unconscious.
First responders arriving on scene began CPR. Darren was transported to Vista Medical Center East in Waukegan, where he was pronounced dead. McCarty-Wroten stayed at the scene, called 911, cooperated with officers, and submitted to a blood and urine test as required in fatal crashes. She told police she believed she had a green light and did not see Darren until it was too late. She declined to allow investigators to search her cellphone at that time.
McCarty-Wroten is a TikTok content creator known on the platform as Tea Tyme. In the days following the crash multiple members of the public contacted Zion investigators about a TikTok video that appeared to show her livestreaming herself while driving at the moment of impact. The video showed her speaking to viewers, glancing back at the road, and screaming as a loud thud was heard. An 8-year-old child in the back seat asked what had happened. McCarty-Wroten said she had hit somebody and ended the stream.
How It Unfolded
The Investigation
The Lake County Major Crash Assistance Team was called in immediately to reconstruct the crash. Surveillance cameras from nearby businesses captured the intersection and confirmed the traffic light was red when McCarty-Wroten drove through it. They also showed she was traveling near the 35 mph speed limit and did not slow down or change course before impact.
The investigation was significantly shaped by the public. Multiple members of the community contacted Zion investigators within days of the crash to report a TikTok video they believed showed McCarty-Wroten livestreaming at the moment of impact. Police executed multiple search warrants and subpoenas. McCarty-Wroten eventually surrendered her phone through her attorney and forensic analysis confirmed the video was recorded at the exact date and time of the crash.
McCarty-Wroten's attorney, Jed Stone, has stated that the evidence is hardly compelling, citing a police report with an eyewitness who contradicts the red light claim, and arguing prosecutors are overcharging her with reckless homicide. Charges were filed December 23, 2025. She was found leaving her home with packed bags when arrested, having not surrendered voluntarily as requested. She was released pending trial December 26 with conditions.
The Accused
He Is Not Forgotten
Darren Lucas was 59 years old. He worked at a grocery store and walked home after his shift the same way people do every single day in every city in this country. He was crossing the street at a crosswalk with the right of way. He was not doing anything wrong. He was just going home.
His coworker Sandra Williams told reporters she was devastated when she heard the news. She was still devastated weeks later. That is who Darren was, a person whose absence left a real hole in the lives of the people around him.
Distracted driving kills more than 3,000 people in the United States every single year. Every one of those people was someone going somewhere, living their life, not expecting to be killed by someone who chose a phone over the road. Darren deserved to get home. We will say his name.