Man charged with aggravated DUI after deadly I-55 crash in Bolingbrook

Joseph Marszalik

A driver has been charged with aggravated driving under the influence following a fatal crash that led to the victim’s vehicle catching fire on Interstate 55 in Bolingbrook.

At 1:04 p.m. on Monday, Joseph Marszalik, 22, of Willow Springs, was booked into the Will County jail and charged with aggravated DUI, along with several traffic offenses such as transportation or possession of open alcohol by a driver. Willow Springs is a village in Cook County.

Illinois State Police Trooper Rodger Goines said Marszalik was involved in a fatal crash on Monday on I-55 at Weber Road, which is in Bolingbrook. Goines said the incident still remains under investigation. He provided no further information.

The identity of the driver who died following the crash was still pending positive identification as of Tuesday, according to the Will County Coroner’s Office.

Illinois State Police officials said the unidentified driver’s vehicle had caught on fire in a three-vehicle collision on I-55.

A report from an Illinois State Police trooper that was filed in court alleged Marszalik was the at-fault driver in a fatal crash.

The report alleged the trooper detected a “strong odor of alcoholic beverage emitting” from Marsazlik’s breath and that his eyes were “red and glassy.”

“Open alcohol in vehicle, admitted to drinking earlier, showed impairment through [Standardized Field Sobriety Testing],” the trooper’s report said.

The trooper’s report also said a preliminary breath test showed Marszalik’s blood-alcohol concentration was above the legal limit.

About 3:50 a.m. on Monday, troopers investigated the fatal crash in the southbound lanes of I-55 at Weber Road in Bolingbrook, according to a statement from Illinois State Police on Monday.

Goines said the crash was initially put out as a four-vehicle crash at first but it was later determined during the investigation that it was only three vehicles.

A preliminary investigation showed one vehicle was parked partially in the left lane of I-55 near Weber Road because of a previous crash, police said.

A second vehicle traveling in the left lane had sideswiped the first vehicle, which led to it becoming disabled in the lane of traffic, police said.

A third vehicle then struck the second vehicle in the rear, police said. That collision caused the second vehicle to catch fire.

The driver of the second vehicle was pronounced dead on the scene by the Will County Coroner’s Office, police said.

The drivers of the first and third vehicles reported no injuries on scene. A passenger in the third vehicle was hospitalized for injuries that were not considered life threatening, police said.