20-year-old charged in Geneva crash that killed elderly couple
A 20-year-old from St. Charles has been charged with reckless homicide in a September 2025 crash that killed a Geneva husband and wife who were in their 80s, authorities said Friday.
Charles T. Rodgers also has been charged with unlawful possession of a stolen/converted vehicle and aggravated reckless driving. Additionally, he’s been charged with misdemeanor speeding.
A judge on Friday ordered Rodgers released under electronic home monitoring while his case is pending. His conditions of release include a ban on driving any vehicle or contacting the remaining survivors of the crash.
Prosecutors allege that at about 1:40 p.m. on Sept. 5, 2025, a 2005 Toyota Corolla was initiating a westbound turn onto Bricher Road from Fisher Drive when it was struck by a black BMW X3 traveling east on Bricher.
The collision sent the BMW off the road into a wooded area north of the intersection, where it caught fire. Firefighters quickly extinguished the flames.
The occupants of the Toyota, a married couple, died as a result of their injuries. They were identified as Dennis White, 85, who was driving, and his wife, Ritsuko White, 88. In retirement, Dennis White “fulfilled a lifelong calling” by becoming a Catholic deacon, according to his obituary. Together, they shared nearly 65 years of marriage.
The BMW was driven by Rodgers, and he was not legally allowed to possess the car and had obtained it from a St. Charles Chrysler Dodge dealership where he was employed at the time, the Kane County state’s attorney’s office and Geneva police said in a joint release.
Rodgers is accused of slowing the BMW to a stop on Bricher, a residential area with a 45-mph speed limit, before accelerating aggressively and reaching a speed of 119-mph.
Prosecutors said that instead of braking to avoid the crash, Rodgers steered the BMW left, apparently attempting to go around the Toyota but instead striking it head-on. Two of the BMW’s passengers suffered fractures as a result. The third passenger was medically released at the scene.
Rodgers’ next court date is set for May 20.