A man is facing felony charges after a fatal crash that also left a child injured Monday afternoon in south suburban Monee.
Michael Rodriguez, 45, was driving a 2003 Cadillac Escalade north about 3:40 p.m. on Interstate 57 south of Manhattan-Monee Road in Monee, according to a statement from Illinois State Police. He failed to reduce his speed for slowed traffic in the area and the Cadillac crashed into the back of a Ford.
The crash forced the Ford into the back of a semitrailer being hauled by a 2006 Volvo truck, state police said. A boy, who was a passenger in the Cadillac, was not secured in a child restraint system and was thrown out the rear passenger window in the crash.
The driver of the Ford, 29-year-old Thomas G. Stiso of Glenwood, was dead at the scene, according to state police and the Will County Coroner’s Office. The preliminary results of an autopsy indicated he suffered multiple injuries in the crash, but a final ruling on his cause and manner of death was not made pending the final autopsy, police and toxicological reports.
Rodriguez and the boy were taken to a hospital with injuries that were not thought to be life-threatening, police said. The 43-year-old Hinsdale man driving the truck was not injured.
Rodriguez, who lives in Peotone, was charged with failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident, failure to secure a child in a proper child restraint system and driving while license revoked, police said.
His bail was set at $500,000 during a hearing Tuesday and he was being held at the Will County Adult Detention Facility, according to the Will County Sheriff’s Office. His next court date was scheduled for June 5.
