Death of man charged in fatal Wheaton crash ruled suicide

The death of a man charged in a fatal crash last year whose body was discovered in February at a Warrenville condominium has been ruled a suicide, according to DuPage County officials.

Brian Thunderkick, 62, was found dead Feb. 22 at his home in the 2S600 block of Pierre Curie Lane by detectives who were attempting to a serve a court document, according to Warrenville police and the DuPage County Coroner’s Office.

The body of Laura Arns, also 62, was found at the home, authorities said.

It did not appear forced entry was made into the home, and there were no signs of violence, police said.

On Thursday, the coroner’s office announced that both their deaths were ruled suicides. Thunderkick died of self-inflicted asphyxiation due to placing a plastic bag over his head and Arns died of self-inflicted combined drug and alcohol intoxication, the coroner’s office said.

Thunderkick was facing a charge of reckless homicide in a September 2017 crash that killed 23-year-old Erika Villagomez of Elgin, the Chicago Sun-Times reported at the time.

Thunderkick was driving a Chevrolet Camaro at more than 135 mph when it crashed into Villagomez’s Honda on Butterfield Road just east of Naperville Road, Wheaton police said. The Honda was engulfed in flames and Villagomez was dead at the scene.