At about 1 p.m. on September 20, 2017, a southbound semi-truck driven by 68-year-old Jesus Garcia slammed into the back of a Toyota SUV on Interstate 57 near Kankakee, Illinois. Two of the SUV passengers, Jake Hemrick, 26, of Tampa, Florida, and Michelle Crowe, 24, of Boca Raton, Florida, were killed. The driver survived.
The impact from Garcia’s Freightliner truck pushed the Toyota underneath an International semi-truck driven by Joda Duncan Jr. that was in front of the Toyota.
Garcia was given traffic citations for failing to reduce speed in a construction zone and driving too fast for conditions and released on a signature bond.
On October 18, 2018, a Kankakee County grand jury indicted Garcia on multiple charges of reckless homicide.
On September 21, 2020, a jury was selected in Kankakee County Circuit Court. The prosecution’s case largely relied upon the testimony of Illinois state police troopers Justin Kokos and David Verkler. They testified that at the scene and later that day, Garcia said that the Toyota had swerved in front of his Freightliner and cut him off. They said Garcia claimed that the driver of the Toyota hit its brakes when the driver of the International slammed on its brakes. Garcia said he was traveling at 60 miles per hour, that Duncan’s truck was going the same speed, and that his truck hit the Toyota after the Toyota struck Duncan’s truck first.
Garcia had given blood and urine samples immediately after the crash. No drugs or alcohol were detected.
Trooper Kokos identified exhibits showing advance warning signs of an upcoming construction zone which reduced the 70 miles per hour speed limit to 55 miles per hour. Traffic on the two-lane highway was reduced to one lane, with all traffic in the left lane merging into the right lane.
Trooper Verkler testified that he had driven through that zone about 15 or 20 minutes before the crash. He said that at the time, traffic was stop-and-go in the zone. He said that among the warning signs was a digital sign located just north of the zone. He said the digital sign alerted drivers to be cautious of “traffic stopped ahead.”
Trooper Verkler also testified as an expert in accident reconstruction. He photographed the scene and described the damage to the Toyota as a “vehicle crush.” Verkler observed deflation marks, gouge marks, and skid marks caused by the collision, including 50-foot-long skid marks made by Garcia’s International. Verkler testified that, in crashes involving commercial motor vehicles, the larger vehicle will “override the car and force the car to go down,” causing marks in the road.
Garcia’s truck’s event data recorder was destroyed in the collision, but the Toyota’s event data recorder was intact. The length of time that the Toyota’s recorder retained data was 4.95
seconds prior to deployment of the airbags upon impact.
Trooper Verkler testified that the Toyota’s steering wheel was pointed straight ahead, meaning that the Toyota did not make any lane changes during the recorded time. The first impact that the Toyota experienced was a rear impact. At 4.95 seconds before impact, the Toyota was traveling at less than one mile per hour. At 4.45 seconds before impact, the Toyota was completely stopped.
He said the Toyota’s brake was applied throughout the recorded 4.95 seconds, and that based upon the lack of variation in the longitude and acceleration rate, the Toyota made a “normal stop,” as opposed to a sudden stop.
Trooper Verkler said that Garcia’s statement that he was driving 60 miles per hour was consistent with the reconstruction of the collision. At that speed, Garcia would have covered approximately 88 feet per second. At 4.95 seconds before impact, Garcia’s truck would have been 436.28 feet behind the Toyota.
Trooper Verkler said that if Garcia had begun braking when the Toyota stopped, his truck would have come to a stop within 214.3 to 342.9 feet, or at least 93.38 feet behind the Toyota.
Trooper Verkler concluded that, based upon his reconstruction and rendition of the collision, Duncan’s Freightliner was stationary in the right lane, with the Toyota 33 feet directly behind it. He said the Toyota was completely stopped for approximately 4.5 seconds prior to impact, then was struck by Garcia’s truck, which forced the Toyota underneath Duncan’s truck.
Garcia testified that there were “hardly any indicators that there was a construction site.” He said that he was traveling behind Duncan’s truck when the Toyota “got between and reduced the distance between us.” He said he did not immediately brake because the vehicles were traveling at the same speed. He said traffic was not stopped, but conceded that he could not see in front of Duncan’s truck because it blocked his view.
“I was coming behind this car…and as we were going along, everybody was going along the same speed,” Garcia testified. “And then I see that [Duncan’s truck] stops. The back of [Duncan’s truck was] almost in my face and immediately the strike occurred. The hit. The shock. This happened so quickly, one or two seconds, and then it’s done. I didn’t have an opportunity or time to do anything. I didn’t have time to brake.”
On September 24, 2020, the jury convicted Garcia of reckless homicide. He was sentenced to eight years in prison.
On February 2, 2023, the Third District Illinois Appellate Court vacated the conviction and ordered the case dismissed. The court ruled that the prosecution had not provided sufficient evidence to show that Garcia had a “conscious disregard for the particular surroundings and circumstances that [rose] to the level of willfulness and wantonness.”
Although Garcia was traveling five miles over the 55 mile per hour construction limit, that was not “excessive,” the court said. Any “brief inattention to the advance warning signs and road conditions did not amount to a conscious disregard of a substantial and unjustifiable risk establishing a gross deviation from the standard of care,” the court held.
The court noted that the expert testimony showed that Garcia had hit the brakes: his truck left skid marks 50 feet long and that if he had braked one second earlier, he would have stopped short of the Toyota. That, the court ruled, was not sufficient to prove recklessness.
On February 14, 2023, Garcia was released from prison.
On November 29, 2023, attorney Pamela Brennan filed a petition for a certificate of innocence. The prosecution opposed the petition.
On January 31, 2025, Kankakee County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Cunnington ruled that Garcia was entitled to a certificate of innocence. On February 19, 2025, Judge Cunnington signed an order granting the certificate of innocence. Brennan then filed a claim for compensation from the state of Illinois.
–Maurice Possley
Posting Date: 07-10-2025
Last Update Date: 07-10-2025
