DuPage Co. trucker convicted in '08 Huntley double-fatal crash

A Kane County jury has found a truck driver guilty of reckless homicide for his role in a 2008 crash that killed two Elgin siblings.

Gustavo P. Gomez, 48, of the 7200 block of Weldern Lane, Darien, has been convicted on two counts of reckless homicide and several traffic offenses in the deaths of 52-year-old Sergio Espinosa and Espinosa's sister, 58-year-old Rosalinda Rodriguez, both of Elgin.

Prosecutors said Gomez had his gas pedal nearly to the floor and was traveling 60 mph just seconds before his semitrailer ran a red light and struck a Hyundai Elantra driven by Espinosa in the intersection of Route 47 and Oak Creek Parkway in Huntley.

The accident at 2:36 p.m. on Jan. 21, 2008, happened as Espinosa and Rodriguez drove home from work at Weber Stephen Products Co. Police said neither alcohol nor mechanical problems played a role.

Gomez was being held in the county jail Friday, awaiting an Oct. 27 sentencing hearing in front of Circuit Judge Timothy Q. Sheldon.

Prosecutors said he faces probation or three to five years in prison. They credited police and witnesses for the conviction.

"This conviction is largely attributable to the combination of cooperative citizens, good detective work and the technology of event data recorders," Assistant State's Attorney Steve Sims said in a statement.