I-80 Trucker Blamed In Death Had 2016 DUI Arrest

The Will County semi-truck driver being blamed by the Illinois State Police for causing Tuesday afternoon's horrific fatality in Joliet on Interstate 80 has had multiple brushes with the law over the past few years, Joliet Patch has uncovered. On Tuesday afternoon, Melinda Cullen, 38, of Coal City was killed as she headed westbound through Joliet along Interstate 80 near Rowell Avenue. Police say the brake drum dislodged from a Bolingbrook man's semi as Antanas Sereiva, 59, was driving eastbound on I-80.

The Illinois State Police's preliminary investigation revealed that the wheel rim then became detached from its rear axle of Sereiva's semi and the wheel rim crashed through the Coal City woman's windshield, killing her. Police said that the 59-year-old Sereiva has been charged with a federal motor carrier safety act violation for having unsafe equipment.

According to state police, Sereiva was driving a 13-year-old semi, a 2005 Volvo Truck tractor, and a Hyundai semi-trailer at the time of the Coal City woman's death.

The Reeves Funeral Homes in Coal City is handling for the funeral arrangements for Cullen, who was several months pregnant with her son Jaxson Cash Cullen at the time of Tuesday's tragedy.

Her obituary notes that Cullen, whose maiden name was Cortez, grew up in Coal City and graduated from the Coal City High School Class of 1998. She obtained her bachelor's in communications from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. She later worked for Commscope Technologies in Joliet. At the time of her death, she was employed in Tinley Park for Panduit.

"A woman of strong will, Melinda loved to cook and had a smile that could lighten up any room. She also made special time for her family or anyone in need. Family was of utmost importance to her, and she will most be remembered as a devoted mother that leaves behind a beautiful family that will miss her very much," her published obituary notes. Cullen's visitation is Friday and the funeral is Saturday.

To read Cullen's full obituary, visit the Reeves Funeral Homes website here.

It turns out that Sereiva does not have a clean driving record, and he's also been in trouble with the law here in Will County for issues involving violence.

Less than two years ago, in May 2016, Sereiva was arrested in connection with charges of driving under the influence involving controlled substances in the state of Alabama, according to arrest records. That arrest occurred in Huntsville, which is in Madison County, Alabama.

Locally, in 2014, the Will County State's Attorney's Office charged Sereiva with two counts of domestic battery and one count of resisting arrest after an April 20, 2014 disturbance call to his home in Bolingbrook in the 1200 block of Jennifer Lane.

According to the criminal complaint, Bolingbrook Police officers arrested Sereiva after he pushed and kicked a family member, and then he struggled with Bolingbrook officers during the handcuffing process.

Records at the Will County Courthouse show the judicial system needed to utilize a Russian-Lithuanian interpreter for the defendant.

That summer, in 2014, Sereiva reached a plea bargain and was convicted of one of the battery charges. He was put on a year of probation, given fines and ordered to perform 100 hours of public service, court records show. In January 2015, the parish administrator at a Lithuanian Catholic parish in Chicago, Nativity BVM Church on South Washtensaw Avenue, wrote Will County's court officials informing them Sereiva "has been working at our church for his service. He has completed 100 hours of service supervised by Father Jaunius Kelpsas."

RELATED: Names Released In I-80 Joliet Fatality

ORIGINAL STORY: Wheel Rim Falls Off Truck, Kills Woman

2016 mugshot of Antanas Sereiva provided to Patch