71-Year-Old Woman Killed, Son Injured After Car Hit By Wrong-Way Driver: Police

GENEVA, IL — A 71-year-old Geneva woman was killed and her 26-year-old son was critically injured in a head-on crash Saturday for which an Aurora man faces a long list of charges, police said.

Emergency personnel responded around 9:15 p.m. to the scene in the 1000 block of South Randall Road in Geneva, according to police, where a northbound 2013 Chevrolet Camaro driven by 40-year-old Christian Mares veered into southbound traffic, striking a 2019 Nissan Versa driven by the Geneva woman, who was pronounced dead at the scene.

Her identity is being withheld pending notification of family, police said. Her son, a passenger in the Nissan, was taken to Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital in Geneva, then airlifted to John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital in Chicago, according to police. A resident of Essexville, Michigan, he suffered life-threatening injuries and remained in critical condition Sunday, police said.

Mares, of the 1100 block of New Haven Avenue, was treated and released for injuries at Delnor and faces the following charges, according to police:

• Aggravated driving under the influence in a crash causing death, two counts;
• Reckless homicide;
• Aggravated use of a communication device causing death;
• Aggravated driving under the influence in a crash causing great bodily harm, two counts;
• Aggravated driving under the influence with no insurance, two counts;
• Driving under the influence of alcohol;
• Driving under the influence of alcohol with a blood alcohol content of 0.08 or more;
• Operation of an uninsured vehicle causing bodily harm;
• Operation of a vehicle while using an electronic communication device;
• Driving on the wrong side of the road;
• Driving too fast for conditions.

He was taken to Kane County Jail to await a hearing, police said.

A portion of South Randall Road from Kaneville/Keslinger roads to Fargo Boulevard was closed overnight while authorities were on the scene, according to police, who said the roadway reopened at 3:10 a.m. Sunday.