$50K bail for man charged with failing to report fatal Far South Side crash

A motorist charged with failing to report his involvement in a fatal crash on the Far South Side last weekend was ordered held on $50,000 bail on Tuesday.

Jordan Gomez turned himself in at an area police station less than two hours after Sunday morning’s incident, records show.

Gomez is accused of slamming his Nissan Altima into a 2004 Ford SUV that initially collided with a city of Chicago salt truck.

The SUV was traveling north on Avenue 0 when it hit the eastbound city truck at 130th Street around 1:20 a.m., Chicago police said.

Gomez, 27, crashed into the Ford SUV about 30-40 seconds after the initial collision, Cook County prosecutors said. When the driver of the salt-spreader got out of his truck, he didn’t see anyone inside the 2005 Altima.

Prosecutors believe the driver of the SUV, 37-year-old Victor D. Crosby, was standing outside when Gomez crashed into the driver’s side door. Prosecutors said Crosby’s shoes were found outside his vehicle and his body was found underneath Gomez’s Nissan.

Crosby, of the East Side neighborhood, was pronounced dead at the scene. His death was ruled an accident. The autopsy by the Cook County medical examiner’s office found he died of multiple blunt-force injuries.

Gomez and a passenger in his car ran from the scene following the accident and were seen on video surveillance standing outside a nearby bar, prosecutors said. A short time later, Gomez hailed a driver to take him home.

At home, Gomez called someone and told them he had been involved in a crash and had left the scene, prosecutors said. That person told him to go to the police. Gomez then went to the South Chicago District police station about 3 a.m., authorities said.

Gomez works at his family’s business and lives with his family in the East Side neighborhood about two miles from the scene of the crash, according to his court-appointed assistant public defender. He had never been arrested before.

Gomez’s public defender told Judge Stephanie Miller that Gomez’s family could afford to post bond if his bail was set at $10,000, but asked the judge to release him on a personal recognizance bond, noting that “the weather was very bad” at the time the crash.

Miller recommended that Gomez be placed on electronic monitoring if he should be able to post bond.

Several family members who appeared at Gomez’s bail hearing declined to comment.

Gomez was charged with a felony count of failure to report an accident involving death. He was also issued multiple driving citations, including driving without insurance.

His next court date was scheduled for Feb. 19.