Wayne man guilty in fatal Bartlett 2011 crash
A 21-year-old Wayne man was found guilty Tuesday of charges relating to a 2011 fatal car crash near Bartlett.
DuPage Judge Robert Kleeman found Rick Judge, of the 30W700 block of Bradford Parkway, guilty of aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol, drugs or intoxicating compounds and driving with a suspended license during the accident that killed Ramiro Dominguez, 38, of Hanover Park. When sentenced later this year, Judge faces as many as three years in prison.
Kleeman found Judge not guilty of failure to reduce his speed to avoid an accident because it could not be proven which driver actually caused the crash by running the red light on Army Trail Road near Route 59.
Assistant State's Attorney Jim Scaliatine said a witness came upon Judge's damaged yellow Hummer about 5:50 a.m. on Dec. 15, 2011, near the intersection. The interior lights were on and the vehicle was smoking.
Scaliatine said Judge was wandering around near a black Mustang, driven by Dominguez in a front yard at the intersection.
The witness gave Judge his cellphone to call 911 but instead, Scaliatine said, Judge placed six calls to his father and never called 911. Scaliatine said when emergency crews arrived, Judge maintained Dominguez "came out of nowhere" after running the red light.
Forensic data proved Judge was driving "slightly below" the posted speed limit, was not driving erratically and was not using his cellphone or texting at the time of the crash.
Dominguez was pronounced dead at the scene. Judge was treated for an ankle injury at Central DuPage Hospital before being arrested on charges of driving with a suspended license.
It wasn't until late February, Scaliatine said, that state police investigators tested the blood and urine samples taken from Judge hours after the crash and found traces of cocaine metabolites in both.
Judge is next scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 8 for the reading of his pre-sentence report.