Man charged with felony DUI in fatal Aurora crash

A 29-year-old man has been charged with reckless homicide and aggravated DUI in a fatal crash on Aurora's southeast side that killed his passenger, a 32-year-old Kankakee man.

James I. Malone, of the 800 block of South Fifth Avenue, Aurora, also is charged with aggravated DUI while license suspended, driving while license suspended, no insurance, misdemeanor DUI and failure to reduce speed, according to Aurora police.

The charges stem from a crash that police said occurred about 3:09 p.m. Saturday near Pearl and Sherman streets in which Malone's 1987 Chevrolet Caprice struck a large tree.

Aurora police, along with firefighters from Aurora and Montgomery, found Gus Bester Jr. pinned inside, unconscious and not breathing, police said. Bester was extricated from the car and pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

Malone also was injured in the crash and he was taken to an area hospital, authorities said. He was moved to the Kane County jail Monday night.

Police said Malone was drunk at the time of the crash and his impairment played a "significant factor" in Bester's death.

If convicted of the most severe charge, Malone faces a prison term of 3 to 14 years and must serve 85 percent of any sentence.

His bail amount and next court date were not immediately available.

At the time of the crash, Malone was on conditional discharge after a Dec. 2, 2018 arrest in Aurora on a misdemeanor charge of driving while license suspended, according to Kane County court records.

Malone pleaded guilty in late December and was sentenced to 18 months conditional discharge, fined $750 and ordered to do 300 hours of community service at a local nonprofit by June 2020, records show.