Inset (left): Ried and Katherine Jacobsen (Knollcrest Funeral Home). Inset (right): Francesco Rendina (DuPage County State's Attorney's Office). Background: News footage of the March 27 crash that killed the Jacobsens (WLS).
An Illinois teen who allegedly caused a fatal crash that killed a couple will have to remain behind bars until he goes to trial.
Francesco Rendina, 18, faces two counts of reckless homicide in connection with a fatal car crash that took the lives of 72-year-old Ried Jacobsen and 67-year-old Katherine Jacobsen on March 27. According to the DuPage County State's Attorney's Office, Rendina hit a speed of 104 mph moments before he crashed his BMW SUV into a vehicle carrying the Jacobsens. Authorities said Rendina slowed down to 89 mph in the 40 mph zone but lost control of his SUV.
Authorities said the crash occurred just before 7 p.m. in Downers Grove, Illinois. Ried Jacobsen was declared dead at the scene. Katherine Jacobsen was transported to the hospital, where she succumbed to the injuries she sustained in the crash.
After further investigation, police arrested Rendina on May 10. He was released after his first court appearance the next day, but prosecutors argued that he should be behind bars. On Wednesday, a judge granted the state's motion to keep Rendina in custody until trial, noting that days before the March 27 crash, Rendina was in court for other alleged traffic infractions — including driving at a high rate of speed.
According to prosecutors, the judge also noted that Rendina "did not comply with the court order just days before the violent crash" and "clearly did not think twice about the laws of the road which are designed to protect drivers."
DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin said in a press release, "I thank Judge O'Hallaren Walsh for agreeing with our position that this defendant poses a real and present threat to the residents of DuPage County and I thank her for her careful consideration of the new evidence presented in court today."
Rendina was booked into the DuPage County Jail on Wednesday. He was 17 years old at the time of the crash, and is charged as an adult with two counts of reckless homicide and several other traffic infractions from separate incidents. His next court date is scheduled for June 30.