Man charged with DUI for fatal rollover crash on I-294

SUN-TIMES MEDIA WIRE - A Texas man has been charged with DUI in connection with a rollover crash that killed his 30-year-old passenger earlier this month on the Tristate Tollway near southwest suburban Hickory Hills.

Michael Ray Thurber, 29, faces one count of aggravated DUI resulting in death, a Class 2 felony which carries a maximum of 14 years in prison, according to a statement from Illinois State Police.

About 4:15 a.m. Sept. 5, Thurber was driving a white 2006 Ford Crown Victoria southbound on I-294 when he tried to exit at 95th Street, but went off the road. The vehicle rolled over down the embankment and landed on the ramp from 76th Avenue to the interstate, police said.

The front-seat passenger, 30-year-old Anthony C. Urbina, was ejected from the car and died at the scene, authorities said. Urbina lived in the 1600 block of Carter Drive in Arlington, Texas.

Thurber had to be extricated from the driver’s seat and was taken in serious condition to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, authorities said at the time.

Thurber, of Winnie, Texas, appeared in court Sept. 15 before Cook County Judge Donald Havis and was ordered held on a $50,000 bond, police said. He posted 10 percent and was released from custody. Thurber is due back in court Nov. 16.