Teenager Pleas Guilty to Charges Stemming from Deadly Alcohol-Related Crash

Onofrio Lorusso, 19, pled guilty in a Kane County court Wednesday to one count of reckless homicide and three counts of aggravated driving under the influence. The charges relate to a June 14, 2009 crash which resulted in the death of passenger Cameron Godee of West Chicago. Godee was Lorusso’s best friend. Prosecutors allege that Lorusso was driving 77 mph in a 25 mph zone in St. Charles when his vehicle skid off the road hitting a mailbox, two trees, and a parked car. Godee died at the scene and two additional passengers were seriously injured. Tests showed a blood-alcohol level of 0.227, almost three times the legal limit for Illinois drivers age twenty-one or over. Chemical tests also found traces of marijuana in Lorusso’s system at the time of the accident.

The judge has allowed Lorusso to stay out on bond in order to finish his current semester at Robert Morris College in Chicago. Sentencing is scheduled for May 13, where Lorusso will face up to fourteen years in prison. Lorusso’s defense attorney hopes for probation based on Lorusso’s age, guilty plea and clean history.

Wayne man pleads guilty in crash that killed W. Chicago passenger, DailyHerald.com, March 31, 2010