Woman faces reckless homicide charge in Elgin DUI crash

Kane County prosecutors are seeking to have a Chicago woman remain in jail while awaiting trial on charges of reckless homicide and driving drunk.

Dena M. Pannos, 45, is accused of killing Cornelius Gray on Dec. 4, 2025, in a crash that happened on North State Street (Route 31) in Elgin.

According to court records, police say Gray, 34, was a passenger in her vehicle, which drifted into oncoming traffic and hit another vehicle near Big Timber Road.

The crash injured a woman in the other vehicle.

Records say Pannos was doing 73 to 86 mph in a 35 mph zone.

During a Wednesday hearing on whether Pannos should be detained pretrial, Kane County Judge D.J. Tegeler said authorities claim that Pannos had a blood alcohol content of .15 percent.

The legal standard for DUI is .08 percent.

In addition to reckless homicide, Pannos is charged with aggravated DUI — causing death, multiple other DUI charges, aggravated reckless driving causing great bodily harm, and several traffic charges.

The charges were filed Jan. 14, and Pannos appeared at a Jan. 29 court hearing by Zoom from a hospital.

On Wednesday, Pannos attended court using a walker. Her attorney told Tegeler that Pannos is living in a nursing home in Chicago, recovering from her injuries. The attorney requested that the hearing be postponed until after she is discharged.

Tegeler agreed to continue the hearing to April 30.

In the meantime, if Pannos is discharged, Tegeler ordered that she not consume any alcohol, marijuana, or unprescribed drugs.