Crime & Safety
Geneva Man, 20, Guilty In Fatal DUI Crash
Raphael P. Peruzza pleaded guilty to aggravated DUI in the collision that claimed the life of his friend, Nicholas Hanson, 19.
A Geneva man has admitted to driving drunk in an October 2017 crash that killed 19-year-old Nicholas Hanson of Geneva. Raphael P. Peruzza, 20, pleaded guilty to a charge of aggravated DUI causing death, a Class 2 felony, this past week, prosecutors said. He is now set to be sentenced before Kane Co. Associate Judge David R. Kliment on Jan. 30.
He a faces a sentence of probation or between 3 and 14 years in prison.
Peruzza was driving a black Jeep south on Burr Road in unincorporated St. Charles Township at about 2:20 a.m on Oct. 6, 2017, with Nicholas Hanson riding along in the front passenger seat, prosecutors said.
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The jeep was traveling at a high rate of speed when it left the roadway, went airborne and crashed into a group of trees. Peruzza got out of the car, as the car began to burn, leaving Hanson behind, according to a news release.
An investigation revealed Peruzza’s blood-alcohol concentration was more than 0.08 percent. Peruzza, of the 2000 block of Eldorado Drive in Geneva, admitted to police he had been drinking alcohol just before driving, according to prosecutors.
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Peruzza remains free on bond.
“Although Mr. Peruzza’s decision to plead guilty in this case relieves Nicholas Hanson’s family of having to live through the horrific details of the crash that killed him, it does not erase the fact that Mr. Peruzza made an incredibly irresponsible and criminal decision when he chose to consume alcohol and then drive at an excessive speed,” Kane County State’s Attorney Joe McMahon said.
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