Drunken Wrong-Way Driver In Deadly Ike Crash Had No License
Updated 09/09/13 - 2:12 p.m.
MAYWOOD, Ill. (CBS) -- State officials said the man arrested for drunk driving in a fatal wrong-way crash on the Eisenhower Expressway this past weekend also was driving without a license.
Miguel Rico, 20, of the 2400 block of South Christiana, was driving a Dodge minivan west in the eastbound lanes of the Eisenhower on Saturday, when he slammed into a blue Ford near the Harlem exit, police said.
Three young women were inside the Ford, and two of them were killed.
Monica Hernandez, 20, of Maywood; and Briana Resto, 19, of Northlake, died in the fiery crash.
At the time of accident, he was wanted on an arrest warrant for allegedly violating his probation on a 2011 drug possession case. The Illinois Secretary of State's office said he never had an Illinois driver's license, and previously was convicted of driving without a license and speeding in 2010.
Friends and relatives of the victims showed up at the Maywood Courthouse on Monday, expecting him to appear for a bond hearing, but charges have yet to be filed in the crash. Illinois State Police said he was driving drunk at the time of the accident, and was expected to face aggravated DUI charges.
The Cook County State's Attorney's Office said it doesn't know when he'll be back in court. He was already being held without bond for the probation violation, according to the Cook County Sheriff's office website.
Wrong-Way Drunk Driver Had No License
Both families said they feel Rico should face more serious charges, such as reckless homicide.
Resto, Hernandez, and the sole survivor from the Ford – 20-year-old Brittney Mouzon – had been in school together for years, most recently at Proviso East High School in Maywood, according to relatives.
Resto's mother said her daughter had just been promoted to supervisor at Baker's Square. She was pursuing a career in criminal justice.
Hernandez's uncle and aunt said she had a big smile, and she had just accepted a new office job.
"She was going to Triton [College in River Grove] and was just finishing gen ed courses, so she had her whole life ahead of her; just starting out, and for their lives to be cut so short … I can't, it's so unfair, and our lives are destroyed," Hernandez's aunt, Angelica Esposito, said.
Hernandez's uncle, Raul Medina, said, "She was just like a daughter to me. … I mean, I helped my sister raise her, and she called me anytime she needed advice, or any kind of help. To me, this is a very big loss for us."
Mouzon stopped by the courthouse in Maywood on Monday, hoping to see Rico in court. She described the moment Rico's car slammed into the one in which she was riding on Saturday. She was in the front passenger's seat, and saw the Dodge minivan coming straight at her.
"I look up, and all I see is a car coming towards us super-fast," she said.
After the impact, Mouzon screamed for her life, and those of her friends.
"I was just shaking. I was like, 'Wake up!'" she said. "I was just screaming, I was like, 'Can somebody help my friends? Somebody help us!'"
Mouzon was joined Monday by other friends and relatives of the two women who died. They had been hoping to see Rico in court, but were disappointed to learn he wouldn't be appearing until Tuesday.
"I wanted to … see the man that took my baby from me," said Resto's mother, Kathy Resto-Marquez. "I'm so lost, I'm so empty, I don't know what I'm feeling. I only know I can't touch her anymore. I love her so much. She was loved by everyone, and she touched so many lives."
A wake for Hernandez has been set for Tuesday, from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Bormann Funeral Home at 1600 Chicago Avenue in Melrose Park. Her funeral will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday at our Lady of Mt. Carmel in Melrose Park.
Resto's wake will be Wednesday, from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. at De La Torre Funeral Home at 2708 N. Western Av. Her funeral will be held there Thursday at 9 a.m.
