Off-duty ride-share driver charged with reckless homicide in landscaper's death
The off-duty ride-share driver who authorities say struck and killed a landscaper working along Golf Road in Mount Prospect was ordered held on $75,000 bail Tuesday.
Munkhbat Munkh Erdene, 30, of the 5200 block of Carriageway Drive in Rolling Meadows faces charges of aggravated DUI and reckless homicide in the death of Roberto Orozco, a 67-year-old husband, father of four and landscaping company owner from Hanover Park whose clients included the Illinois Department of Transportation. Orozco, who was wearing a neon yellow vest and a bright orange hat, and his 26-year-old co-worker, who was similarly attired, were working for IDOT at the time of the collision Sunday, which prosecutors say was caught on Erdene's dashboard-mounted camera.
Orozco was looking down, placing safety cones in front of a large, flashing arrow sign near Robert Drive, as the defendant's vehicle approached, Assistant Cook County State's Attorney Jennifer Gates said.
"No screeching or squealing tires can be heard on the video, which could have alerted the victim to the defendant's car," Gates said. The crash broke both of Orozco's legs, caused cranial bleeding and a lacerated liver and severed his spine.
Erdene's car also struck the trailer containing the flashing sign, which subsequently struck the co-worker in the head. The co-worker was treated at Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights and released, police said.
Erdene provided a breath sample that yielded a .074 breath alcohol content, which is below the legal limit of .08.
Prosecutors say Erdene told police he was attempting to put his cellphone into a holder near the radio when it fell to the floor. Police said he told them he was bending over to grab the phone, looked up and saw the construction car with the trailer, then hit "the trailer and an older person."
Defense attorney Matt Keenan told Cook County Judge Ellen Mandeltort his client is "extremely upset about what happened."
Erdene's breath alcohol content "is high enough that it is a matter of concern but not above the legal limit," Keenan said.
Mandeltort ordered Erdene not to drive and to refrain from drinking alcohol. He also must surrender his passport to police. He will next appear in court on Nov. 21.
Orozco's death marks the first traffic-related, construction worker fatality this year in Illinois, according to an IDOT Facebook statement, which called his death a sad reminder of the dangers faced by those working along roadways.
The statement reads: "Please, when approaching workers in the field: Slow down. Stay off the phone. Give them distance. Proceed with caution. They are putting their lives on the line to make our roads better for everyone."