Driver charged with killing pregnant woman in Carpentersville crash

Frank Ruiz | Kane County state's attorney's office

A man has been charged with reckless homicide for a crash that killed a pregnant woman and her unborn child earlier this year in northwest suburban Carpentersville.

Frank Ruiz, 19, is charged with two counts of reckless homicide and two counts of aggravated reckless driving, all felonies, for the May 19 crash that left 32-year-old Rocio Hernandez-Balderas of Carpentersville dead, according to a statement from the Kane County state’s attorney’s office.

The two-vehicle crash happened shortly before noon at Route 25 and Golfview Lane in Carpentersville, according to a statement from Carpentersville police.

Ruiz was driving a 2005 GMC Yukon north on Route 25 at a high speed when he ran a red light and hit a 2011 Toyota Corolla that was going east through the intersection, according to police and prosecutors. The Corolla came to a rest against a utility box and its occupants, the driver and four passengers, had to be extricated by the Carpentersville Fire Department.

Hernandez-Balderas, who was pregnant, was one of the passengers in the Corolla, authorities said. She and her unborn child died at a hospital.

Another passenger from the Corolla and a passenger in the Yukon were also injured in the crash, police said.

Ruiz, who also lives in Carpentersville, turned himself in to authorities on Friday, according to the state’s attorney’s office. He appeared in court on Saturday, where a judge set his bail at $25,000 and “released him based on his promise to appear in court.”

His next court date was set for Jan. 25.