Vernon Hills man convicted in 2005 fatal DUI crash faces new drunk driving charges in McHenry County

A man convicted in a New Year’s Day 2005 drunken-driving crash in Chicago that killed a taxi driver and passenger has been charged with DUI and causing a crash near McHenry.

Igors Kazakovs, 42, of Vernon Hills, is charged with felony aggravated DUI with two prior offenses, while having a previous reckless homicide and while having a revoked driver’s license, according to information filed in McHenry County court.

Prosecutors said in court Thursday that during the morning hours of Nov. 9, Kazakovs was driving a Ford Edge that rear-ended another vehicle stopped at a red light in the area of South River and Charles J. Miller roads.

McHenry County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to the scene and determined Kazakovs had rear-ended the other vehicle, “and noticed that he had slurred speech and an odor of alcohol on his person,” according to a news release from the McHenry County State’s Attorneys Office.

“Kazakovs admitted to drinking earlier in the day ... and was arrested after submitting to standardized field sobriety tests,” according to the release.

Deputies said they found “several mini bottles of liquor” in his vehicle, while a breath test showed Kazakovs had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.191, prosecutors said.

After an initial court appearance Thursday, Judge Mark Gerhardt found Kazakovs to be a danger and ordered that he be detained in the county jail pretrial, a court order shows.

Kazakovs was initially charged with a misdemeanor DUI; however, after prosecutors reviewed his criminal history and learned of his past offenses, the charges were increased, according to authorities.

Prosecutors said Kazakovs has been convicted twice for drunken driving. In 2005, on New Year’s Day, Kazakovs, while intoxicated, hit a taxicab, killing the driver and passenger and was sentenced to 16 years in prison, according to prosecutors. At the time of the November alleged crash, Kazakovs’ driver’s license was still revoked from the fatal accident, according to prosecutors and the information in his file.

“State’s Attorney Freese is thankful that another tragedy was avoided in the most recent accident, while noting that Kazakovs’ story demonstrates the need for aggressive prosecution of those who selfishly endanger others by driving under the influence of any intoxicating substance,” according to the release.

Kazakovs is due back in court Dec. 22.