Man charged with DUI for fatal St. Charles Township crash

A Geneva man has been charged with DUI for a crash that left his passenger dead early Friday in unincorporated St. Charles Township in the west suburbs.

Raphael Peruzza, 19, was driving a Jeep Grand Cherokee about 2:15 a.m., heading south on Burr Road near Woodgate Road, when it left the roadway and flipped over, according to a statement from the Kane County sheriff’s office. The Jeep came to a rest near a tree line on the east side of the road and caught fire.

Peruzza was able to get out of the Jeep, but his passenger, 19-year-old Nicholas Hanson, became trapped, the sheriff’s office said. Hanson, who lived in Geneva, was found dead inside after the blaze was brought under control.

The Kane County coroner’s office said a ruling on Hanson’s preliminary cause of death was pending further investigation after an autopsy Friday.

Peruzza, who also lives in Geneva, was taken to Delnor Hospital in Geneva with injuries that were not through to be life threatening, the sheriff’s office said.He was charged on Saturday with felony counts of reckless homicide and aggravated DUI causing a fatal accident.

He was also issued traffic citations for driving in the wrong lane and driving too fast for conditions, according to the sheriff’s office. He is being held at the Kane County Adult Justice Center on a $2 million bond.