Prison, Then Deportation, For Repeat Drunk Who Caused I-55 Wreck

JOLIET, IL — Rodrigo Marin's fourth drunken driving offense resulted in a collision on Interstate 55 that took the life of an off-duty Berwyn police officer on Jan. 19, 2020. This week, Marin pleaded guilty at the Will County Courthouse to the felony crime of aggravated driving under the influence. Several other charges were dismissed under the plea bargain with the Office of Will County State's Attorney Jim Glasgow.

Will County Circuit Judge Dave Carlson sentenced Marin to a four-year prison term at the Illinois Department of Corrections. Now 43 years old, Marin has remained in the Will County Jail since March 20, 2020.

The Plainfield man will get credit for spending the past year in custody. The criminal complaint filed last year against Marin stated that his driver's license was revoked at the time of the crash.

Will County court officials told Patch that once Marin finishes his prison sentence, federal immigration officials intend to deport him because he has been in the United States illegally.

Fourteen months ago, Illinois State Police said Marin's 2006 Nissan Titan was southbound on I-55 in an unknown lane just north of Route 30. A Hino box truck driven by a Shorewood man was also heading south and was in the right exit lane to Route 30 when for unknown reasons, Marin lost control of his Nissan, crossing over and hitting the front left side of the box truck.

Both cars came to rest in the right two lanes around 6 a.m., Illinois State Police said. Marin left the scene and was located on foot not far from the crash site.

Just two minutes later, a 2019 Dodge Durango driven by off-duty Joliet Police Officer Erin Zilka smashed into the back of the Hino box truck, according to state police. Zilka's passenger, 33-year-old off-duty Berwyn Police Officer Charles Schauer, was pronounced dead at the scene. Zilka was not injured.

Following an 11-month investigation by the Illinois State Police into the deadly crash, a special prosecutor in December charged Zilka, who is now 37, with two counts of aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol and one count of aggravated driving under the influence of a combination of alcohol and drugs.

On Tuesday, Zilka's defense lawyer, Jeff Tomczak of the Tomczak Law Group, filed a motion asking that Marin appear for a pretrial deposition at the Will County Jail.

Tomczak maintains that his client was below the state's legal limit of 0.08 at the time of her crash killing her passenger.

Tomczak argues that Marin, not his client, caused the Berwyn officer's death.

"We want to make sure he's not outside the United States when our trial occurs," Tomczak told Joliet Patch in January. "He's going to be a crucial witness in our case, and we need to make sure he's around. It's our position he's the person responsible for the death of Mr. Schauer."

Tomczak told Patch that a hearing in front of Judge Carlson on his motion to depose Marin will occur April 6. If the judge grants the motion, Tomczak said the deposition inside the Will County Jail may occur later that same day with Marin.

According to Will County prosecutors, Marin's other drunken driving convictions were as follows:

April 26, 1998, in Lincoln County, Tennessee

June 4, 2000, in Cook County, Ill.

May 8, 2004, in Cook County, Ill.