Zilka Didn't Appear Alcohol Impaired At Fatal Crash: State Trooper

JOLIET, IL — The licensed truck driver whose vehicle was hit by off-duty Joliet police officer Erin Zilka testified Tuesday there was at least a "50-50" chance someone might die as a result of his disabled Hino box truck blocking one of the lanes of traffic just before sunrise.

The felony aggravated DUI trial of Zilka began Tuesday in the Jan. 19, 2020 death of her front-seat passenger, Berwyn Police Officer Charles Schauer. Around 6 a.m., while it was still dark outside, Zilka's Dodge Durango crashed into a Hino box truck that was partially blocking one of the southbound lanes of Interstate 55 near Plainfield.

Zilka's passenger died instantly.

She and Schauer were heading back to Plainfield, where Zilka lives.

Felix Ocampo testified Tuesday for Illinois special prosecutor Bill Elward, recalling how his Hino box truck was initially struck before 6 a.m. by Plainfield repeat drunken driver Rodrigo Marin, who then tried to walk away from his fourth DUI. A professional commercial truck driver, Ocampo called his boss about the crash, and then he called 911.

Ocampo testified he did not place any of his orange-colored caution triangles along I-55 warning other motorists of the crash because it was too dangerous to do that.

Instead, Ocampo stood near the guardrail and tried waving at the southbound I-55 traffic, urging them to switch lanes to avoid hitting his disabled box truck, blocking one of the lanes of traffic near the Route 30 Plainfield exit.

Zilka's Dodge Durango crashed into his truck "within two to four minutes" of his initial wreck with Marin.

"When I was signaling cars, there were some close calls," Ocampo testified Tuesday. "I just remember the Dodge Durango just hauling ass."

Without a doubt, Zilka was traveling at least 60 mph, the long-time truck driver told the courtroom.

Ocampo testified he yelled, "Stop! stop!" but it was too late. Zilka crashed into his box truck and her passenger died instantly.

"After the crash, I just knew this was a bad situation," Ocampo testified. "I did not see anybody inside the vehicle. I noticed a female walking, and she was crying hysterically. Right there, I knew somebody was in the passenger side with severe injuries. I knew this was getting serious by then."

Next, Elward called Luther Kincaide to testify regarding a Facebook video the long-time train engineer made within moments of the deadly crash site, around 6 a.m. while it was still dark.

Kincaide was driving home to Shorewood "in his trusty pickup" after working for the Burlington Northern at the rail yard in North Lake. One exit before he arrived back in Shorewood, Kincaide recognized danger. He saw several people standing along Interstate 55 near Plainfield.

"It looked like a vehicle was sideways," Kincaide testified before Will County Judge Dave Carlson, who must decide Zilka's guilt or innocence. "So I assumed it just happened, so I stopped."

At the crash scene, Kincaide made "a brief cell phone video," that he shared on Facebook.

He later provided his 90-second-long video to the Illinois State Police for their investigation. In his video, a woman — later identified as Zilka — was heard screaming hysterically.

Kincaide said he stopped at the crash site because "I thought I would actually help out."

The Shorewood man testified he "saw a dead person" inside Zilka's mangled Dodge Durango.

In reference to Schauer, Zilka's passenger, a voice was overheard in Kincaide's cell phone video saying, "he's gone."

Illinois State Police Trooper Michael Trainor served as Tuesday's final witness for the first day of trial.

Trainor encountered Zilka at the crash before she was taken by ambulance to St. Joe's hospital. At the scene, Trainor testified, Zilka did not exhibit any obvious signs of being intoxicated or impaired by use of alcohol.

The special prosecutor asked the Illinois State Police trooper to describe Zilka's behavior at the deadly crash scene.

"Walking around the scene, hysterical, she was chewing gum," Trainor testified, explaining for the judge that gum "can be used to cover up the odor or alcohol."

Less than an hour later, Trainor encountered Zilka inside a patient room in Joliet at St. Joe's hospital. He spent at least an hour with her at the hospital.

"I noticed glassy, bloodshot eyes and a strong odor of alcohol," Trainor told the courtroom.

He acknowledged, however, that her bloodshot eyes could be from all of her crying.

But standing about 5 feet away from her, Trainor testified, he was certain the off-duty Joliet police officer had been under the influence of alcohol.

He offered her a chance to take field-sobriety tests, but Zilka refused to take them, he testified.

Trainor completed the DUI citation form "because I believe that alcohol has an influence in that crash," he testified.

Eleven months later, Zilka was indicted by a Will County grand jury on with three felony charges of aggravated driving under the influence involving an accidental death.

Even though Zilka refused to provide a breath sample, the Illinois State Police trooper obtained Zilka's results because of a blood draw. The St. Joe's hospital blood draw, taken more than 90 minutes after her crash, registered 0.07. In Illinois, the legal limit to be considered drunk is 0.08.

During cross-examination from Zilka's lawyer, Jeff Tomczak, Trainor estimated he saw Zilka at the crash site for about 20 minutes.

Tomczak asked if the state trooper did not believe Zilka was impaired by alcohol when the trooper saw her along I-55.

"Correct," he testified.

Instead, Trainor determined that Zilka was under the influence of alcohol by smelling her breath from about five feet away back at St. Joe's hospital.

During re-direct from the special prosecutor, Trainor was asked about the reasons he did not approach Zilka on I-55 to perform field sobriety tests.

First, there were safety reasons on I-55, he said. Second, Zilka was receiving medical treatment from firefighter-paramedics, Trainor answered.

But given that the multi-vehicle crash involved the death of Zilka's passenger, Trainor suspected alcohol might have played a factor.

"It's a common occurrence in fatal crashes," Trainor testified.