Driver pleads guilty to fleeing fatal Aurora crash
A motorist who struck and killed a man walking along Butterfield Road in Aurora faces up to seven years in prison after pleading guilty Tuesday to leaving the scene of the accident.
Rocio V. Garza, 23, of Elmhurst, entered the plea the same day his jury trial was set to begin in DuPage County court. In exchange, prosecutors agreed to cap their sentencing recommendation at seven years when he otherwise would face up to 15.
Garza told police he panicked after striking 30-year-old Michigan man Robert Vincze about 4:30 a.m. Dec. 12, 2010, Assistant State’s Attorney Joe Lindt said in court.
The accident happened as Vincze and a friend pulled a sled holding a gas can in the snow along Butterfield Road, just east of Eola Road, after having car trouble. Lindt said the friend “heard a loud pop and observed (the victim) no longer in the immediate area.”
He said Garza initially stopped and spoke to the victim’s friend, then returned to his car and drove off without offering aid or calling for help. Vincze was pronounced dead about 45 minutes later at Provena-Mercy Hospital in Aurora.
A tip led police days later to Garza, who admitted he was the driver, according to prosecutors. “He indicated he did, in fact, panic; he started freaking out,” Lindt told Judge George Bakalis.
Defense attorneys Mike Botti and Rich Heidecke said Garza had looked down briefly to change radio stations when he struck Vincze, who was walking near the roadway. They said their client drove off only after stopping to make sure others were there to help.
“He didn’t leave him to die,” Botti said outside of court. “It was a tragic accident. He got a little freaked out.”
Authorities said Vincze, a mechanic, was in town to visit his father and friends. Several members of his family were in court Tuesday but declined to comment afterward.
Garza, who returns to court March 26, could be sentenced to four to seven years in prison or probation for aggravated leaving the scene of an accident involving death. By law, he would have to serve at least half of any prison term, with credit for about 14 months in the county jail since his arrest.
Botti said a formal sentencing hearing might be avoided if the prosecution and defense can reach an agreement.
“We’re still negotiating,” he said.