DUI charge in fatal crash

JOLIET -- Drunken driving charges have been filed against a man whose passenger died after a single-car crash Sunday night.

Deputy Police Chief Mike Trafton said it was around 11:20 p.m. when Jose Reyes, 27, was driving a silver 2000 Toyota Camry north on Center Street.

"As he came to Marion Street where the road curves, the driver continued going straight and went right into a decorative flagpole and brick retaining walls," he said.

Reyes' front-seat passenger Eduardo Castillo-Arellano, 41, of Joliet, was transported to Provena Saint Joseph Medical Center, but was pronounced dead at 12:08 a.m. Monday.

Reyes and a 25-year-old Cicero man who had been sitting in the backseat were also injured.

"Responding officers noticed a strong odor of alcohol coming from Reyes," Trafton said.

Reyes and the other passenger were taken to Silver Cross Hospital, where both were expected to recover from their injuries. Sources indicated Reyes broke his neck and arm in the collision.

A blood-alcohol content test was performed on Reyes at the hospital, which Trafton said is standard procedure in a fatal crash investigation.

"The results of that test led to a charge of aggravated driving under the influence against him," Trafton said.

Reyes, of 676 Collins St., has also been charged with improper lane usage, driving without a valid license and operating an uninsured motor vehicle and will be arrested when he is released from the hospital.

Castillo-Arellano is the city's fifth traffic fatality this year.

On Feb. 26, Chris Roder, 44, of Shorewood, was killed when a pickup driven by Brian Patnoudes, 27, smashed into his car at 81 miles per hour on Jefferson Street near Stryker Avenue. In September, Patnoudes pleaded guilty to reckless homicide.

On March 27, Hayde DeValle, 30, of Cicero, was found dead on Drauden Road north of Caton Farm Road, the apparent victim of a hit-and-run driver.

On June 13, Frances Gorski, 62, of Joliet, was killed when the car she was a passenger in was struck from behind and pushed into another vehicle on westbound Interstate 80 over Houbolt Road.

Cesar Vallejo, 26, died five days after a Dodge van hit his motorcycle head-on after crossing oncoming traffic Aug. 16 on Cass Street near Grinton Avenue. The driver of the van, Ramiro Alcantar, 36, was charged with aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol.