Police: St. Charles man in fatal crash was high on heroin, distracted by phone
A St. Charles man admitted he was high on heroin and distracted by his cellphone when he crashed head-on into another car last month, killing a 65-year-old woman, according to Kane County court records.
Joshua Spudich, 23, of the 400 block of South Second Street, told police he snorted heroin just before driving Nov. 28 and was looking at his phone when he crashed and killed Susan Gorecki, also of St. Charles, according to a search warrant for his phone and vehicle, where police also found a syringe.
Spudich was being held at the Kane County jail on $1 million bail, meaning he must post $100,000 to be released while the case is pending.
According to a police affidavit used to secure a search warrant for his 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe and two cellphones, authorities responding to the crash on North Second Street (Route 31), north of Timbers Trail, found a spoon with residue on it and a bottle of unidentified pills in his car.
Police also learned Spudich's mom called 911 before the crash, saying she had talked to her son on the phone and he was intoxicated and a known heroin user, according to the affidavit.
Police took Spudich to the station, where he failed field sobriety tests. While being booked, police found three small plastic bags containing between .28 and .36 grams of heroin: one on the floor after it fell out of Spudich's pocket, another in his left sock and the third in his right shoe, according to the affidavit.
A urine drug screen showed the presence of numerous drugs in Spudich's system: amphetamines, barbiturates, benzodiazepine, cannabinoids, cocaine, opiates and phencyclidine, the affidavit said.
Spudich also gave video statement admitting to snorting a line of heroin at a friend's house just before driving and looking at his phone and looking for another phone in the back seat when the crash occurred, according to the affidavit.
"The defendant stated that he felt the reason he hit the other vehicle was because he was temporarily distracted by his phone(s)," the officer wrote.
Spudich is next due in court Wednesday and faces up to 14 years in prison if convicted of the most severe charge of aggravated driving under the influence.