Joliet Drunken Driver Kills Young Woman In Will County: Prosecutors

JOLIET — Four years after his last felony conviction for drunken driving in Will County, 26-year-old Joliet resident Cesar Gonzalez is now being detained in the Will County Jail indefinitely, in connection with a deadly wreck on July 28 that ended the life of a 36-year-old woman who was driving through Beecher.

Will County prosecutors were successful in their attempt to keep Gonzalez locked up at the Will County Jail under the SAFE-T-Act. He's charged with aggravated DUI causing a death.

According to the prosecution, Gonzalez has a prior DUI from 2020 in Will County, resulting in court supervision. He also had a 2020 offense for driving while license suspended that also resulted in court supervision.

Prosecutors say that around 10 p.m. July 28, Will County Sheriff's deputies responded to West Eagle Lake Road and South Kedzie Avenue in Beecher, where two cars were off the roadway. The Joliet defendant was driving the Dodge 3500 while the victim was driving a Ford Explorer.

The driver of the Ford Explorer, Jodi Ruggiero, was taken to an area hospital and died from her crash injuries.

The 36-year-old victim lived in Grant Park and "most recently she was a personal banker at Midland States Bank in Grant Park, where she was loved and admired by both customers and employees alike. Jodi had a smile that would light up the darkest of rooms," her obituary noted.

Will County prosecutors said Gonzalez was taken to the hospital after his collision and his blood concentration came back at 0.101. Will County Sheriff's Deputy Ryan Albin spoke with Gonzalez, "who admitted that he was the owner of the Dodge truck. The defendant noted that the truck is in his father's name, but that he was buying the truck off of him."

As for the events of the fatality, Gonzalez told Will County deputies he was heading toward Peotone/Manhattan driving west on Eagle Lake Road. The intersection had a stop sign for east and west traffic, while north and south traffic on Kedzie Avenue did not have any traffic control devices.

"Defendant continued that he stopped at the intersection, didn't see anybody coming and then started to 'take off' when all of a sudden, he observed lights out of 'nowhere.' He reached over to hold the passenger back and then rolled over," court records reflect. "When asked whether or not he had been drinking prior to the crash, defendant admitted that he was drinking, but that he stopped around 4 p.m."

As for Gonzalez's passenger, he told deputies he was on the phone "and didn't remember much." The passenger did not suffer any significant injuries.

"Due to the fact that defendant entered the intersection without yielding the right of way, advising that he didn't even see the southbound Ford, failed to reduce his speed to avoid colliding with the Ford, and his BAC of 0.101, deputy Albin formed the opinion that the defendant was under the influence of alcohol to the point of having been unable to operate a motor vehicle safely."