No Headlights, 66 MPH In 35-MPH Zone, 2 Dead: Reckless Homicide Case Against Man, 19

JOLIET — Jacoby Hamilton, the 19-year-old Crest Hill motorist, was traveling 66 mph in a 35-mph speed limit zone in the middle of the night without his headlights in use, according to the Joliet police investigation into the Feb. 18 traffic fatality deaths of a Joliet married couple Walter Kretzler, 65, and Roxane Holt, 59.

Because of Hamilton's history of dangerous driving and his repeated pattern of skipping out on his unrelated traffic citations and criminal charges at the Will County Courthouse, the four-count reckless homicide defendant must now remain in Will County's Jail for an indefinite period of time under the Illinois SAFE-T-Act, Will County Judge Fred Harvey determined.

Hamilton meets the dangerous standard under the SAFE-T-Act, and he meets the willful flight standard, the judge noted.

This week, Will County prosecutor Katie Rabenda revealed the events involving Hamilton's overnight wreck that ended the lives of the Joliet married couple.

According to Rabenda's successful petition to deny pretrial release for Hamilton:

• At 2:06 a.m., a Joliet police officer on routine overnight patrol discovered the crash, moments after it happened at Black Road and Infantry Drive on Feb. 18.
• Hamilton was driving a 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe, and his Tahoe collided with a 2007 Trailblazer on the driver's side door.
• The Trailblazer's occupants, Kretzler and Holt, were trapped inside and died instantly.
• Meanwhile, police say Joliet officer Jorge Trujillo saw Hamilton running from the driver's side door of his wrecked Chevrolet Tahoe, and his passenger also ran off and got away. According to prosecutors, Hamilton ran west, through the Busey Bank parking lot, where the Joliet officer pulled alongside him and ordered him to stop. Hamilton, then changed directions, trying to run southeast through the bank parking lot, heading east on Black Road, before Hamilton stopped and gave himself up at 733 Apollo Drive.
• "Officer Trujillo asked Jacoby Hamilton why he crashed and defendant indicated his brakes didn't stop."
• Joliet police obtained video surveillance from Busey Bank, and the video showed the married Joliet couple had a solid green light when they entered the intersection, while Hamilton's Chevrolet Tahoe did not have its headlights in use, and Hamilton disregarded the red light at Infantry Drive.
• After giving himself up to Joliet police, officials said Hamilton told Joliet Fire Department paramedics, "My stomach hurts." The paramedics asked if he was in the crash. "Probably, it happened so fast," Hamilton told them.
• The autopsies showed Holt and Kretzler died from multiple injuries suffered in the wreck. As for Hamilton, he was wearing his seatbelt and had seat belt rash after the crash.
• On Feb. 19, Lasonya Hamilton, the owner of the wrecked 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe, called Joliet police about retrieving personal belongings from her car. She told Joliet police that her son Jacoby Hamilton was driving it during the crash.

The Joliet Police Department investigation into the double traffic fatality found:

• Hamilton had his gas pedal pressed down 57 percent with his speed at 63 mph 2.5 seconds before the crash.
• Half a second before the crash, Hamilton had the gas pedal pressed to the floor 100 percent, and his speed during the collision was 66 mph, according to police. The speed limit for northbound Infantry Drive is 35 mph. As for the Joliet married couple, they were driving 36 mph a half-second before they died. Their posted speed limit was also 35 mph.
• Hamilton's Chevrolet Tahoe was traveling 31 mph over the speed limit at the time of the crash, noted assistant state's attorney Katie Rabenda.
• Thanks to Joliet's FLOCK camera system, Joliet police obtained seven hits for Hamilton's Chevrolet Tahoe on the day before the double fatality, and the FLOCK cameras revealed that the Tahoe's headlights and taillights were working properly.
• Two weeks before the double fatality, Hamilton was cited by Joliet police, at 1:46 a.m., for illegal transportation of alcohol by the driver and possession of marijuana by the driver. Last Sept. 25, Joliet police arrested him on charges of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, in which they alleged Hamilton had a gun inside the same Chevrolet Tahoe. He also drew tickets for speeding, improper lane use and unlawful possession of marijuana by the driver as a result of the Sept. 25, 2023 traffic stop.

According to Rabenda, Hamilton had court hearings for those cases on Oct. 16, Nov. 6 and again on March 6, and on all three occasions, Hamilton did not show up for court.

Related Joliet Patch coverage:

Joliet's Horrific Double Fatal: Reckless Homicide Charges Filed