Drunk driver gets 5 years for fatally striking Jess Rodrigues on Eisenhower Expressway in October

Jeff Mayes — Tue, 17 May 2016 10:30:52 -0500

By JORDAN OWEN
Chicago Sun-Times Wire

A man who was driving drunk when his car struck and killed 41-year-old Jess R. Rodriguez on the Eisenhower Expressway on the West Side last year has been sentenced to five years in prison.

Adrian Harris, 33, pleaded guilty Thursday to aggravated DUI causing death before Judge Kenneth Wadas, according to Cook County court records.

Harris was driving in the westbound lanes of I-290 near Western Avenue about 4 a.m. Oct. 4, 2015, when his car struck a pedestrian, Rodriguez, according to Illinois State Police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Harris stopped a short time later near Homan, state police said.

Jess Rodriguez

Rodriguez, of the 1800 block of South Peoria, was dead at the scene, authorities said. An autopsy ruled his death an accident.

Wadas sentenced Harris to five years in prison Thursday, according to court records.

Harris was booked into the Stateville Correctional Center in Crest Hill to begin serving his sentence Friday, according to the Illinois Department of Corrections. He will receive credit for 233 days served in the Cook County Jail, and will have to serve two years of supervised release when he is freed.

Man charged with reckless homicide, DUI for running down Jess Rodriguez on Eisenhower Expressway

Jeff Mayes — Thu, 08 Oct 2015 10:06:23 -0500

By JORDAN OWEN
Chicago Sun-Times Wire

Adrian Harris | Chicago Police

Prosecutors allege a man was driving drunk when his car struck and killed Jess R. Rodriguez of Pilsen early Sunday on the Eisenhower Expressway on the West Side.

Adrian Harris, 33, was charged with reckless homicide and aggravated DUI causing death, according to the Cook County state’s attorney’s office.

Harris was driving in the westbound lanes of I-290 near Western Avenue about 4 a.m. when his car struck a pedestrian, later identified as the 41-year-old Rodriguez, according to Illinois State Police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Harris stopped a short time later near Homan, state police said.

Rodriguez, of the 1800 block of South Peoria, was dead at the scene, authorities said. An autopsy ruled his death an accident.

Judge Laura Sullivan ordered Harris held on a $400,000 bond Monday, according to the state’s attorney’s office. He is next due in court Oct. 23.

Jess R. Rodriguez | Homicide Watch Chicago

Drunk driver gets 5 years for fatally striking Jess Rodrigues on Eisenhower Expressway in October

Man charged with reckless homicide, DUI for running down Jess Rodriguez on Eisenhower Expressway