Naperville woman charged in crash that killed motorcycle passenger in Aurora

A Naperville woman is facing criminal charges in connection with a crash earlier this year in Aurora that killed a motorcycle passenger.

The Kane County state’s attorney’s office has charged Adrienne N. Wheeler, 37, with reckless homicide following the May 1 crash that killed 29-year-old Nicole Ross of Cortland.

In addition, Wheeler is charged with aggravated reckless driving, failure to signal when required, improper lane usage, and improper U-turn on roadway.

Traffic crash Investigators from the Aurora Police Department’s Traffic Division say Wheeler was making a food delivery at about 5 p.m. in her 2021 Chevrolet Suburban and intended to turn left from a private strip mall drive onto westbound Butterfield Road.

After being delayed by another vehicle in front of her, Wheeler switched lanes to turn right and proceeded eastbound on Butterfield.

A few seconds later, Wheeler attempted a U-turn from the curbside lane to travel westbound on Butterfield. She entered the path of a 1990 Harley-Davidson traveling in the median lane of eastbound Butterfield. The motorcycle collided with the driver’s side of the Suburban.

Ross and the driver of the motorcycle were both thrown off the bike. Ross then was struck by a third vehicle traveling west on Butterfield. She died the next day.

A warrant for Wheeler’s arrest was obtained on Sept. 19. Wheeler was taken into custody on Oct. 2 and released the next day after a pretrial release hearing.