Wayne man sued over fatal crash again

Another lawsuit has been filed against a Wayne man accused of driving under the influence in a crash that killed a former classmate at St. Charles East High School.

The suit against Onofrio "Josh" Lorusso, 19, was filed in Kane County last week by the parents of Colton Kumerow of St. Charles, one of two back-seat passengers who survived the June 14, 2009, crash in St. Charles.

According to the complaint, which seeks more than $50,000 in damages, Kumerow has been "subjected to pain, suffering, disability, disfigurement, medical expenses, and may continue to suffer all the same into the future" as a result of Lorusso's negligence behind the wheel.

Lorusso has pleaded not guilty to felony charges including reckless homicide for his role in the crash, which killed Cameron Godee, 18, of West Chicago. His attorney, Vince Solano, could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

According to police, Lorusso was driving south on the 3100 block of Royal Fox Drive, not far from Kumerow's home, about 3:20 a.m. when his 2005 Ford Explorer went off the road and hit two trees. Godee, a front-seat passenger, was killed, while Lorusso, Kumerow and 17-year-old Chelsea Mertz of St. Charles, also in the back seat, escaped with injuries.

Lorusso, of the 4N800 block of Honey Hill Circle, later registered a blood-alcohol concentration nearly three times the legal threshold for Illinois drivers of legal drinking age and tested positive for marijuana, police said.

Both Lorusso and Godee were recent graduates of St. Charles East High School, according to police. Last year, the families of Godee and Mertz both sued Lorusso; their cases are pending.

Timothy Reuland, who represents Kumerow, said he suspects the teens had been attending a party before the crash. He declined to elaborate on his client's injuries, noting Kumerow is still a minor. Kumerow was 16 at the time of the crash, according to a police report.

Lorusso's next appearance in criminal court is Thursday. The Kumerow lawsuit goes to a judge at the civil courthouse in Geneva on May 17.