An Oak Brook teenager charged with killing a Downers Grove couple while allegedly driving over 100 mph will remain in jail after an appellate court upheld his detention.
The Illinois Third District Appellate Court on Monday, Nov. 9, affirmed a DuPage County Circuit Court order keeping Francesco Rendina, 17, in custody on two counts of reckless homicide, Shaw Local reported.
Rendina is charged in connection with a March 27 crash at Highland Avenue and 35th Street in Downers Grove that killed Ried Jacobsen, 72, and his wife, Katherine Jacobsen, 67.
Downers Grove police responded to the two-car crash at about 6:53 p.m. that day, according to a DuPage County State's Attorney's Office news release. Rendina allegedly was driving a 2022 BMW SUV southbound on Highland Avenue at a high rate of speed, changing lanes recklessly, when he struck the Jacobsens' vehicle as Ried Jacobsen turned onto Highland Avenue from 35th Street, authorities said.
Prosecutors alleged Rendina was traveling at 104 mph about five seconds before the crash and 89 mph at impact. The state's attorney's May news release described the zone as a 45-mph area, as reported by NBC Chicago and other outlets. Shaw Local's November report described it as a 40-mph zone. His BMW was allegedly racing another car at the time, according to Shaw Local.
Ried Jacobsen was pronounced dead at the scene. Katherine Jacobsen was taken to a local hospital, where she died from her injuries, authorities said.
Detention reversed, then upheld
At Rendina's first detention hearing, a judge found the state proved a detainable offense but ruled Rendina was not a threat, citing his age, lack of violent history, family support and counseling, Shaw Local reported. The judge released him with conditions that barred him from driving and from possessing or consuming alcohol or controlled substances.
The circuit court later reversed that release after prosecutors presented new evidence, including fake-ID and gun-adjacent photos, domestic disturbance calls and a prior mental-health hospitalization, according to Shaw Local.
The appellate court's Monday ruling cited crash video, Rendina's speed, his post-crash conduct, his pattern of traffic offenses dating to age 14 and the fact that the alleged offense occurred just days after he was placed on court supervision. The court found both that Rendina posed a danger and that no release conditions could mitigate the risk, according to the opinion as reported by Shaw Local.
DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin said in a May news release that Rendina's "alleged reckless driving on a busy road that resulted in a horrific crash and the loss of two lives demonstrates his complete disregard for public safety."
Rendina is presumed innocent.
No trial date has been reported.
