Nearly two months after he was expected to plead guilty to causing a deadly crash on First Avenue, Solomon Aguilera remains in Cook County Jail. On Jan. 15, Aguilera was granted another continuance, leaving surviving victims and other family members angry that the case has not been resolved.
Aguilera will again appear in court on Feb. 25 at the Maybrook courthouse, but it’s unknown whether he’ll change his plea to guilty or seek more time to fight the charges against him.
That was what police expected when Aguilera appeared in front of Judge Carol Kipperman on Dec. 1, 2009. Detective Sgt. David Krull at the time said that Aguilera planned to plead guilty and face sentencing.
But the plea deal was nixed at the last minute, setting the stage for the Jan. 15 court date.
Family members and one of Aguilera’s victims sat outside Room 107 on Friday, again expecting the case to be resolved. Instead, it was delayed again. Part of the reason given last week was that the court would need as much time as possible for a murder trial.
Margarita Rios, 63, who was severely injured in the March 29, 2009 crash, sat in the courtroom lobby. Speaking in Spanish through her niece, Lissette Hernandez, Rios said she was hospitalized for six months following the crash, which killed her 57-year-old sister, Angelina Meza.
Hernandez’s uncle, David Meza was also injured in the crash. Although he was hospitalized for a much shorter time, he still suffers from its effects, his niece said. A FedEx employee prior to the crash, David Meza’s injuries – which included a broken leg and a broken hip – have prevented him from returning to his old job.
“He can’t do that anymore,” Hernandez said.
Meza is still undergoing physical rehabilitation, according to Hernandez, and remains unemployed.
The family has been receiving both moral and financial support from the Alliance Against Intoxicated Motorists (AAIM). Twyla Blakely, victim services coordinator for AAIM who was at Maybrook with the victims’ family Friday, said that the ramifications of such terrible crashes are felt for a very long time.
“People’s lives are changed forever,” Blakely said. “They don’t just pop back.”
According to Riverside police, Aguilera’s blood-alcohol level was three times the legal limit when his Ford Crown Victoria crossed the center line on First Avenue just south of 31st Street and struck a Land Rover head-on. Police lab analysis reportedly also revealed traces of cocaine in Aguilera’s system at the time of the crash.
Of the four people in the Land Rover, only one walked away without serious injuries. Aguilera has been indicted on 14 felony charges – 10 for aggravated DUI, one for reckless homicide, one for driving on a revoked license and two for aggravated reckless driving.