Major Joliet Crash: Reckless Driving Charge For Off-Duty Deputy

JOLIET, IL — Will County Sheriff's Deputy Andrew Schwartz has been charged with a felony crime in connection with an off-duty incident that led to a head-on wreck and several serious injuries to a New Lenox family of four driving on Joliet's Plainfield Road on April 4.

Schwartz was indicted by a Will County grand jury Wednesday on one felony count of aggravated reckless driving causing great bodily injury. Special prosecutor Bill Elward presented evidence to the grand jury that led to the criminal indictment for the 38-year-old Schwartz.

Bail for Schwartz will be determined at his Dec. 21 arraignment hearing.

The indictment states that Schwartz was driving his Dodge Ram truck "with a willful and wanton reckless disregard for the safety of person and in doing so caused great bodily harm" including a fractured clavicle, a perforated abdominal viscus and a perforated bowel for Phillip Juarez.

The crash also resulted in a fractured clavicle and abdominal hernia to Julian Juarez; a fractured right hand, hernia, anemia due to blood loss and a pulmonary embolism for Valerie Juarez and a fractured foot and concussion for Phillip Juarez Sr, criminal court records show.

Prosecutors said that "Schwartz pursued a car driven by George Kou-Kou for more than 10 minutes, pursuing Kou-Kou's car eastbound on Route 6, onto I-80, onto Chicago Street southbound, onto northbound Gardner Street," as Schwartz "drove at a high rate of speed on the city streets of Joliet and continuing to pursue Kou-Kou's car until it ultimately crossed into oncoming lanes of traffic at or around Plainfield Road and Frederick Street in Joliet and colliding with a gold 2015 Chevrolet Equinox operated by Phillip Juarez."

The special prosecutor's indictment states that Schwartz "caused the injuries" to Phillip Juarez Sr., Valerie Juarez, Julian Juarez and Phillip Juarez Jr."

Joliet Patch reported in April that Juarez's two sons, now ages 13 and 15, suffered life-threatening injuries during the Sunday afternoon head-on wreck along Plainfield Road. A total of six people were taken to the hospital.

The crash happened around 3:30 p.m. along Route 30 and North Frederick Street. According to Joliet police, a 20-year-old Plainfield man was driving his sedan westbound along Route 30 when he lost control of his car near North Frederick Street. The sedan veered into oncoming traffic and struck a sports utility vehicle driven by a 40-year-old New Lenox man.

Four people were traveling in the SUV including the two boys. Two people were riding in the sedan. Both of the drivers and their front-seat passengers were taken to Joliet's AMITA Health Saint Joseph Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries. The two children riding in the SUV were taken by ambulance to Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox and their injuries were serious, according to Joliet police.

Patch also covered a GoFundMe fund-raiser aimed at helping the Juarez family following wreck. The article was headlined, "Help The Juarez Family Medical Expenses."

As for the now 21-year-old Kou-Kou, he was also indicted this week by the Will County grand jury on one count of aggravated reckless driving.

His indictment is worded slightly differently than the one for Schwartz.

Kou-Kou, who lives in Plainfield, was driving "a 2008 Lincoln .... upon Route 6 to northbound Larkin Avenue to westbound I-80 to South Chicago Street to eastbound Mills Road to northbound Route 52 to Plainfield Road eastbound where said defendant lost control of his vehicle and crossed over into the oncoming lane of traffic, colliding with a vehicle operated by Phillip Juarez Sr. and in doing so caused great bodily harm ..."