Wrong Way I-55 Motorist From Wilmington Who Killed Married Couple Marks 3 Years Awaiting Trial: Prosecutors

WILMINGTON, IL — For Will County criminal defendants facing substantial prison terms, it's quite common that their families turn to attorney Chuck Bretz. If many of these same defendants are desiring to avoid standing trial, Bretz has proven capable of keeping his client's felony case off the Will County Courthouse trial docket for several years.

Wednesday marks three years and one full month since the Illinois State Police booked previously convicted Wilmington drunken driver Michael Trinka into the Will County Jail in connection with the June 27, 2023, traffic deaths of husband and wife Ron and Kelly Dube along the southbound stretch of Interstate 55 near Wilmington.

According to Illinois State Police, at 10:36 p.m. state troopers learned of the double fatality along southbound I-55 in Will County. Trinka was driving a black F-150, and he was going northbound in the southbound lanes of 55.

The Dubes, on the other hand, were traveling with their young children in a GMC Yukon, going southbound on I-55, when Trinka's truck hit them head-on. The Dubes' GMC Yukon was then hit by a semi-trailer, police said. The Dubes were pronounced dead at the crash site.

The couple's three children were taken to an area hospital and survived the crash. Trinka, on the night of the crash, was taken to an area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

According to court files, Trinka had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.266, which is more than three times the legal limit to be considered drunk. Prosecutors also provided an extraction from Trinka's cell phone and stated, "From that night, the defendant was texting friends that he wanted to kill himself. He texted friends that he wanted to die; that he was going to end it that night; and that he wanted to go out with a bang."

Back in 2023, the Illinois State Police revealed that Trinka, who comes from the 100 block of Tully Road, was being held in the Will County Jail on a $3 million bail and faced more than a dozen felony charges of aggravated driving under the influence and reckless homicide charges from the Will County State's Attorney's Office.

In 2018, Trinka pleaded guilty at the Will County Courthouse in connection with a 2017 DUI arrest. For that crime, he received 12 months supervision and was ordered to complete alcoholism treatment, plus 100 hours of community service. His driver's license was returned to him in March 2018, court records show.

Chuck Bretz Takes Over Trinka's Defense In 2025

As Joliet Patch reported in 2025, for nearly two years, Trinka was represented by Chicago's Leonard Law Group, however, the law firm parted ways with Trinka in the spring of 2025, notifying Will County's judges of irreconcilable differences with Trinka in regard to his case.

Immediately afterward, Trinka's newest attorney, Chuck Bretz, filed a motion asking that Trinka undergo a psychological evaluation at the Will County Jail. Bretz wanted his client to undergo a series of contact visits with Dr. Michael Gelbort, informing the court that Trinka "was suffering from various mental health issues for a time prior to the offense and wishes to have Dr. Michael Gelbort perform a psychological/neuropsychological evaluation to include testing for any mental health issue and or psychological/neuropsychological disorder or diagnosis which would impact his decision making and behavior and or his propensity for poor decision making and or certain behavior."

What's Trinka's Court Status Now?

If you thought that three entire years would be sufficient time for the Will County State's Attorney's Office and Trinka's defense counsel to either work out a plea agreement or bring his aggravated DUI and reckless homicide case to trial, you were wrong.

According to court files, Trinka was on the June 24 docket in Courtroom 503 for a plea or trial setting. Nowadays, Will County Judge Art Smigielski oversees 503, but that was not always the case, however.

Anyway, on June 24, Mark Shlifka represented Jim Glasgow's office and Bretz appeared along with his client, who remains in custody. On a motion from Bretz, Trinka's case was continued for another three months. As of now, Trinka should be returned to Courtroom 503 for another plea/trial setting appearance on September 3.

Related Joliet Patch coverage:

Married Couple Killed By Wrong Way I-55 Driver: Wilmington Defendant Needs Psych Eval, Attorney Says

• Wrongful Death Suit For I-55 Wrongway DUI Driver: Cservenyak
• I-55 Double Fatal Wrongway Driver Jailed: State Police
• Ron And Kelly Dube: Three Rivers Festival Benefit Set Up