Man charged with reckless driving for crash that critically injured Kane County deputy
The driver who crashed into a Kane County deputy’s squad SUV, severely injuring him, has been charged with aggravated reckless driving and driving a commercial vehicle with numerous safety violations.
Indalecio Munoz, 53, of Marseilles, was arrested Wednesday.
Munoz is charged with aggravated reckless driving causing great bodily harm.
He also is charged with five felonies of violating the state’s motor vehicle safety laws for commercial vehicles, for having a missing or inoperative breakaway line from the truck to the trailer; safety chains or cables to the trailer; defective or inoperable brakes; and failing to inspect or use emergency equipment.
Prosecutors asked that he be detained pretrial as a danger to the community, but Kane County Judge Salvatore LoPiccolo ruled the charges were not detainable offenses. He prohibited Munoz from driving any vehicle while awaiting trial.
The judge also ordered Munoz to undergo a drug and alcohol use assessment and comply with any recommendations, even though there are no charges contending drugs or alcohol contributed to the crash.
The crash happened around 7 a.m. Oct. 23. Deputy Brian Anderson, 33, was driving a Dodge Durango SUV south on Route 47 near Plank Road near Pingree Grove while investigating a theft of a vehicle. He was driving 45 mph.
Munoz, who owns a landscaping company, was driving north in a Dodge Ram 5500 with dual rear wheels and a trailer at 50 mph. He tried to stop for a stopped vehicle, braking to 16 mph, but veered out of his lane and hit the squad, according to Kane County Assistant State’s Attorney Katy Flannagan.
Anderson was critically injured. It took 45 minutes to extract him from the SUV, and he was flown to the Level 1 trauma center at Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove. He suffered broken leg bones, according to the Kane County Sheriff’s Office.
According to the organizer of a fundraising effort for Anderson and his family, he underwent at least four surgeries. He has not returned to work.
Illinois State Police investigated the crash.
Flannagan told LoPiccolo that investigators found the brakes on the trailer did not work and that there was insufficient electrical current running to the device that operates the breakaway cable or line. That electrical line was wrapped in electrical tape, she said. If Munoz had done a pre-trip safety check as required by law, he should have seen the safety violations and known he was prohibited from driving the truck.
But Munoz’s lawyer, John Curnyn, argued the electrical line might have been damaged during the crash.
“This was a terrible, terrible tragic accident. It is not a violent offense. It is not a violent crime,” Curnyn said.
In addition to the felonies, Munoz is charged with misdemeanor operating a vehicle without a safety certificate. He also faces petty traffic charges.