Chicago Man Detained in Fatal I-290 Crash

Illinois State Police said a 21-year-old Chicago man was arrested after a four-vehicle crash on Interstate 290 early on May 17 killed a 25-year-old Wheaton man and injured several other people. Police identified the driver as Jose F. Perez Marin and the man who died as Benjamin M. Farraday, a passenger in a Toyota SUV. The crash happened at about 2:59 a.m. on westbound I-290 west of Ashland Avenue, according to state police. Prosecutors said in court that Perez Marin was driving a GMC Yukon and that the vehicle’s data recorder showed it was traveling 65 mph 2.5 seconds before impact. ### Who was charged, and what do police say happened on I-290? Illinois State Police said on May 19 that Perez Marin was charged with aggravated driving under the influence involving death, aggravated DUI with no driver’s license and aggravated DUI causing great bodily harm. The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office approved the charges that day, police said. State police said Perez Marin was driving a GMC SUV when he rear-ended a Toyota SUV, setting off a chain-reaction crash involving two additional vehicles. Farraday was taken to a hospital and later died from his injuries, police said. ABC7 Chicago reported the crash scene was about a mile east of an earlier shooting investigation on westbound I-290 near California Avenue that had already brought lane closures overnight. State police said troopers first responded to that shooting at about 11:20 p.m. on May 16, before the fatal crash was reported around 3 a.m. on May 17. ### What do prosecutors say the vehicle data showed? Patch, citing prosecutors at Perez Marin’s detention hearing, reported that the GMC Yukon’s electronic data recorder showed the SUV was traveling 65 mph 2.5 seconds before the collision. Prosecutors also said traffic in the westbound lanes had been stopped for about a minute because of congestion before the impact. (isp.illinois.gov) Patch reported that the Toyota was being used as an Uber vehicle and was carrying three passengers who were returning to Wheaton after celebrating a friend’s graduation. Farraday was one of those passengers, according to the report. The same report said four other people were injured. Illinois State Police said Perez Marin and five other people were injured in the crash. (patch.com) WGN, citing a preliminary state police investigation from the day of the crash, reported that eight people were taken to area hospitals and one later died. The difference appears to reflect reporting at different stages of the investigation. ### Who was Benjamin Farraday? (phillipslawoffices.com) Illinois State Police identified the person who died as Benjamin M. Farraday, 25, of Wheaton. Daily Herald and other local outlets reported he was from Wheaton and was killed after the Toyota SUV was struck from behind on the Eisenhower Expressway. Patch reported Farraday was riding in the Uber vehicle with two other passengers after a graduation celebration. (isp.illinois.gov) Prosecutors said in that account that the stopped traffic and the speed recorded by the Yukon were central details presented at the detention hearing. ### Why does the timing and location matter? (isp.illinois.gov) Ashland Avenue and the outbound Eisenhower Expressway were part of an active overnight emergency response on May 17. WGN reported that the right lane of westbound I-290 and several ramps remained closed Sunday morning after the crash. ABC7 reported that the fatal crash came after a separate shooting involving a motorcyclist near California Avenue on the same stretch of westbound I-290. (phillipslawoffices.com) State police have not said in the arrest release that the earlier shooting caused the crash, but the sequence helps explain why traffic controls and congestion were already in place. ### What happens next in the case? Illinois State Police said Perez Marin was arrested after he was released from the hospital and remained in custody at the Cook County Jail as of May 19. Police said he was awaiting his first court appearance. The next public updates are likely to come through the Circuit Court of Cook County docket and any further statements from the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office or Illinois State Police. (wgntv.com) As of the state police release, the charges had been approved but the case was still at the initial court stage. (isp.illinois.gov)