(CREDIT: Google Maps)

Charges have been filed against a 29-year-old Aurora man in connection with the single-car crash that took the life of a 32-year-old Kankakee man this weekend.

James Malone, 29, of the 800 block of South Fifth Avenue, Aurora, has been charged with Aggravated DUI, Reckless Homicide, and a number of related traffic offenses for his actions which police say contributed to the traffic crash and subsequent death of his passenger, Gus Bester of Kankakee.

(CREDIT: Google Maps)

According to an Aurora Police Department news release, officers and fire personnel from Aurora, Mongomery and the Kane County Sheriff’s Office responded at around 3:09 p.m. Saturday (June 22, 2019) to the area of Pearl Street and Sherman Avenue on the city’s southeast side, for a report of a serious vehicle crash.

Upon arrival, first responders discovered Bester pinned inside a 1987 Chevrolet Caprice that had been driven by Malone.

Police said Bester appeared to be unconscious and not breathing and had to be extricated from the vehicle. He was pronounced deceased at the scene.

Malone, who was also injured in the crash, was taken to an area hospital, where he was treated for non-life-threatening injuries. Malone was transported to the Kane County Jail Monday night and appeared in bond court today.

Preliminary investigation indicates that the Caprice was traveling east on Sherman Avenue when it left the roadway and struck a large tree in the front yard of a residence near the intersection of Sherman and Pearl Streets.

The investigation revealed that Malone was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the crash, and concluded that the impairment was a significant contributing factor in Bester’s death.

Malone has been charged with the following:

• Aggravated DUI resulting in a Death, a Class 2 felony.
• Aggravated DUI (while license Suspended, a Class 4 felony.
• Reckless Homicide, a Class 3 felony.
• Driving While License Suspended, a Class 4 felony.
• No Insurance during Aggravated DUI, a Class 4 felony.
• DUI (2 counts), a Class A misdemeanor.
• Operating Uninsured Motor Vehicle, a petty offense.
• Failure to Reduce Speed, a petty offense.

Anyone with additional information regarding the traffic investigation is asked to contact Aurora Police Department Traffic Division Investigator Sam Aguirre at 630-256-5334 or aguirres@apd.aurora.il.us.

Malone appeared today in Kane County bond court. Associate Judge Keith Johnson set Malone’s bail at $500,000, with 10 percent ($50,000) to apply for bond.

In determining his bail amount, Judge Johnson noted that Malone’s blood-alcohol concentration was .212 percent and that he had THC and methamphetamine in his system.

Malone’s next court appearance is set for 9 a.m. July 10, 2019, in Courtroom 305 at the Kane County Judicial Center.

The charges against Malone are not proof of guilt. He is presumed innocent and entitled to fair trials at which it is the burden of the state to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

SOURCE: Aurora Police Department news release