Judge reduces bail for mom who crashed into Aurora pond
A Cicero woman accused of driving drunk when she crashed her SUV into an Aurora pond and left her 6-year-old son in the submerged vehicle is expected to be released from jail after a judge significantly lowered her bail Friday.
Gladys X. Ruvira-Garcia, 31, of the 5600 block of West 22nd Place, is charged with four counts of aggravated DUI and faces up to 12 years in prison if convicted. She has pleaded not guilty.
DuPage County Judge Liam Brennan cited her lack of a criminal record Friday before reducing her bail from $500,000 to $150,000 - of which she must pay 10 percent.
Ruvira-Garcia's attorney, Stefan Fenner, said her family already has raised $10,000 and likely will obtain the remaining $5,000 necessary to bail her out.
Fenner argued that the previously set bail was excessive for someone with no criminal record and strong family ties to the region.
Assistant State's Attorney James Scaliatine said Ruvira-Garcia was returning home from a party in Aurora around 2 a.m. Oct. 15 along with her son, her 12- and 15-year-old daughters, and her 21-year-old sister when she lost control of her 2007 Nissan Xterra near Diehl Road and I-88 and plunged into a pond.
Ruvira-Garcia, her daughters and her sister escaped the sinking vehicle, but the boy was left behind, officials said.
Divers from an Aurora Fire Department water rescue team found the SUV and the boy in about 15 feet of water roughly 80 feet from shore. Authorities say they think the boy was in the water for at least 30 minutes.
The boy was taken to an Aurora hospital and then moved to a Chicago hospital where, Scaliatine said, he has opened his eyes and is now breathing on his own after several weeks on a ventilator.
Ruvira-Garcia was arrested at the crash site. Scaliatine said she had a blood alcohol content of more than 0.14, almost twice the legal limit to drive.
If Ruvira-Garcia posts bond in DuPage County, an immigration detainer placed on her by Immigration and Customs Enforcement would allow law enforcement to detain her for an additional 48 hours until federal agents can take her into custody, ICE spokeswoman Nicole Alberico said. She said Ruvira-Garcia overstayed a temporary visitor's visa after entering the United States in May 2015.
ICE officials said they place detainers when the agency has probable cause to believe a person is deportable .
Other conditions of her bail, should she be released, are that she wear an alcohol-detecting anklet in addition to a GPS device. Brennan said she also is prohibited from driving because she has no license or insurance.
Her next court date is scheduled for Jan. 4.