Driver in Fatal Crash Did Not have a License

 Posted on November 03, 2013 in Chicago News

Right before midnight on October 13^th, there was a car crash on the east side of Aurora.  The crash left three people dead and another five injured, when a Dodge Charger drifted into the other lane into a full minivan.  The result of the head-on collision was devastating.  Especially since the driver of the Charger was driving without a license.

The family in the minivan lost two loved members, one was 57 year old Rose Cuanetl and the other was 77 year old Andrea Moyotl.  Two children were critically injured in the accident including the 17 year old driver of the vehicle.  Three males aged nine, twelve and 40 were injured in the wreck as well.  All of the injured passengers are expected to make a full recovery.

The driver of the Charger unfortunately did not recover from his injuries.  Oscar Rodriguez, 28, died from the crash on Broadway Avenue near Hazel Street.  Oscar shouldn’t have been driving at all, but decided to take his girlfriend’s car out for a drive.  There was no news about whether drugs or alcohol were a possible cause of the accident.

Rodriguez had a long rap sheet of traffic violations from all the way in 2003.  That was the first time that he was ticketed for driving without a license.  The State of Illinois has a three page summary of his offenses.  More recently he was cited again in 2009 and 2010.  In 2011, he served just 14 days in jail after pleading guilty in Kane County.

This is not an isolated incident but is fairly common in the state of Illinois.  Secretary of State Spokesperson Elizabeth Kaufman said that between 2010 and 2012 there has been more than 125,000 cases of people driving without a license.  That does not include those who have been driving with suspended or revoked licenses.  If you are driving with a revoked license there are ways to restore your eligibility to drive that does not involve breaking the law and putting yourself at more risk.  Contact an experienced criminal defense attorney in Cook County today.