Family sues driver in fatal N. Aurora crash

A 30-year-old Aurora man and a plumbing company he works for have been sued for an Oct. 25 crash that left one woman dead and her friend seriously injured.

The family of Doreen Cardenas, a 22-year-old Cicero woman who died, and her friend, Ruben Navarro of North Aurora, filed the suit against Lee Roy Patterson and Thompson's Plumbing and Hot Water Heating Co. of Maple Park alleging Patterson was on-call for the company the morning of the crash and that he stuck the pair with a company truck.

The suit charges Patterson with negligence for sideswiping the pair around 2 a.m. in the 0-99 block of Grant Street in North Aurora.

Cardenas was visiting Navarro, who was on military leave.

The suit alleges Patterson was speeding, left the scene and failed to give aid. It seeks damages in excess of $50,000 for each victim. Navarro's left knee was seriously injured and he has suffered emotionally and physically, said John Power, attorney for Cardenas' estate and Navarro.

“Our firm is of the belief that you should seek justice as quickly as possible. The only way to get a case finished is to get it filed,” Power said.

Patterson, of the 1000 block of Assell Avenue, is free on bond while facing felony charges of leaving the scene of an accident. He is due in court again on Dec. 17.

If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in prison.

The suit also claims that Patterson was “intoxicated or impaired” from alcohol at the time, but he has not been charged with DUI or reckless homicide, a charge commonly associated with a drunken-driving crash that is fatal.

North Aurora police are awaiting results from the Illinois State Crime lab on whether Patterson, who turned himself in three hours after the crash, was beyond the legal threshold of .08 percent blood alcohol concentration the morning of the crash.

Patterson could not be reached for comment, but Tim Thompson, owner of Thompson Plumbing, said Patterson was not on call on Oct. 25.

Thompson said he employed Patterson since 2003 but this year Patterson worked intermittently because of the poor economy. “(Patterson) was laid off a few weeks before (Oct. 25),” Thompson said. “He decided to take it out for a joy ride on personal stuff.”

Attorneys for Navarro and Cardenas' estate have sought testimony from Old Towne Pub and Eatery in Geneva and the Bowling Green Sports Center in West Chicago as part of the lawsuit. The two entities are not named as defendants.

“He made some comments admitting to drinking at both entities,” Power said.

The case is due in court on Feb. 7.