An Illinois father was speaking to his 16-year-old son on the phone when a speeding, impaired driver slammed into the teenager’s car, leaving him to hear the horrifying sounds of the crash that would claim his child’s life.
Now, more than five years after the tragedy, Deahri Steele, 23, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for the August 26, 2021, crash that killed Rockford East High School football player Mason Hada.
Mason was driving home from football practice when his father, LeRoy Hada, called to check on him. The teenager had his phone on speaker, and the two were still talking when the unthinkable happened.
Suddenly, their conversation stopped.
“And then, boom, I heard it. I heard the glass break, and I heard the squealing,” his devastated father previously told local television station WTVO.
LeRoy desperately tried calling his son again, but Mason never answered.
He rushed to the crash scene near Broadway and 24th Street in Rockford, where emergency responders were working to free his son from the wreckage.
“Everything was complete chaos,” LeRoy recalled. “The ambulance had to cut my boy out of the car.”
Mason was pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigators later determined that Steele, who was 18 at the time, had been driving a black Chrysler 300 at approximately 96 mph in a 35-mph zone shortly before the collision.
According to court testimony, the vehicle was traveling roughly 61 mph above the posted speed limit less than two seconds before impact. Investigators also determined Steele was impaired, with testing revealing the presence of a cocaine metabolite.
Steele survived the crash and was taken to a hospital for treatment. But as investigators worked to build their case, he fled Illinois.
Authorities issued a warrant for his arrest in December 2021, and he remained a fugitive until December 9, 2022, when U.S. Marshals located and arrested him in Detroit, Michigan.
He was extradited to Winnebago County, where he remained in custody as the criminal case moved through the courts.
After years of hearings and delays, Steele pleaded guilty to reckless homicide and aggravated DUI resulting in death.
On November 4, 2026, a judge sentenced him to 10 years in prison for reckless homicide and an additional five years and six months for aggravated DUI.
However, the sentences will run concurrently, meaning Steele’s controlling prison term is 10 years rather than a combined sentence of more than 15 years. He also received credit for the nearly four years he had already spent in custody.
For Mason’s family, the sentencing brought an emotional conclusion to a legal battle that had stretched more than five years.
His parents were given the opportunity to address Steele directly, a moment his father described as an important part of finding some measure of closure.
But LeRoy acknowledged that no prison sentence could erase the pain of losing his son.
“It’s still really hard to adjust without him,” he told WTVO following the sentencing.
Mason was remembered as a talented young athlete who inspired his teammates, friends and family with his determination and positive attitude.
His father said the teenager had a remarkable ability to bring out the best in those around him.
“We reminisce about him every day,” LeRoy said. “He was just one of those types of kids, man. And he set the bar so high with everything that he did.”
The family’s grief has remained constant through the years, even as members of the Rockford community continued honoring Mason’s memory and supporting his loved ones.