A 20-year-old man has been charged in connection with a crash that killed an elderly couple last year after he allegedly took a vehicle from the dealership he worked at and drove over 100 mph on a west suburban roadway.
Charles Rodgers, of St. Charles, faces numerous charges from a grand jury after he allegedly killed a couple in their 80s in a high-speed crash in Geneva just outside the Kane County Sheriff’s office in September 2025.
Prosecutors alleged that around 1:40 p.m. on Sept. 5 Rodgers was driving with three passengers on Bricher Road in a black BMW X3, which he had obtained from a St. Charles Chrysler Dodge dealership where he was employed at the time.
At one point, prosecutors said Rodgers slowed the BMW to a stop in a residential area with a 45 mph speed limit, then began “accelerating aggresively,” reaching a top speed 119 mph just moments before the crash.
It was then authorities said Dennis White, 85, and his wife Ritsuko White, 88, a married couple from Geneva, attempted to turn westbound onto Bricher Road from Fisher Drive.
Prosecutors said Rodgers tried to swerve to avoid the White’s Toyota Corolla, but instead hit it head on. The collision sent the BMW off the roadway, where it caught fire.
The Whites died of their injuries and two passengers in the Corolla suffered fractures from the crash. A third passenger was treated and released at the scene.
Rodgers now faces numerous charges, including unlawful possession of a stolen vehicle, reckless homicide, aggravated driving and speeding.
He appeared in court Friday for a pretrial detention hearing and was ordered released under electronic monitoring while his case is pending. As part of the conditions of his release, Rodgers will be banned from driving any vehicle or contacting any of the survivors of the crash.
He is next expected to appear in court on May 20.
