An Oak Brook teenager charged with reckless homicide in a crash that killed a Downers Grove couple will remain in jail.
The Illinois Third District Appellate Court on Monday, Nov. 9, affirmed a DuPage County Circuit Court order detaining 17-year-old Francesco Rendina, Shaw Local reported. Rendina faces two counts of reckless homicide, a Class 3 felony.
The charges stem from a March 27 crash at Highland Avenue and 35th Street in Downers Grove. Ried Jacobsen, 72, and his wife, Katherine Jacobsen, 67, died as a result.
Prosecutors allege Rendina was driving a 2022 BMW SUV southbound on Highland Avenue, changing lanes at a high rate of speed. He struck the Jacobsens' vehicle as Ried Jacobsen turned onto Highland Avenue off 35th Street, according to the DuPage County State's Attorney's Office. Authorities said Rendina was traveling at 104 mph about five seconds before the crash and 89 mph at impact. His BMW was allegedly racing another car at the time, according to Shaw Local.
Ried Jacobsen was pronounced dead at the scene. Katherine Jacobsen was transported to a hospital, where she died from her injuries, authorities said.
Initial release reversed
At Rendina's first detention hearing, a judge found prosecutors proved a detainable offense but not that Rendina posed a threat, Shaw Local reported. The judge cited his age, lack of violent history, family support and counseling, and released him with conditions. Those conditions prohibited him from driving and from possessing or consuming alcohol or controlled substances, according to a DuPage County State's Attorney's Office news release published by Arlington Cardinal.
The circuit court later reversed that decision after new evidence was presented. That evidence included fake-ID and gun-adjacent photos, domestic disturbance calls and a prior mental-health hospitalization, according to Shaw Local.
Appellate court: no conditions could fix the risk
The appellate court cited crash video, Rendina's speed and a pattern of traffic offenses dating to age 14, according to the opinion as reported by Shaw Local. The court also noted the alleged offense occurred just days after Rendina was placed on court supervision. Taken together, the evidence showed both dangerousness and that no release conditions could reduce the risk, the court held.
DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin said in a May statement that Rendina's "alleged reckless driving on a busy road that resulted in a horrific crash and the loss of two lives demonstrates his complete disregard for public safety."
Rendina is presumed innocent. No statement from his defense attorney appeared in available coverage of the appellate ruling. The next scheduled court date for the underlying case was not included in the ruling coverage.
