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Crime & Safety

Bond Lowered for Alleged Suicide Driver

George H. Smith, 80, of St. Charles rammed his SUV head-on into oncoming traffic on State Street, seriously injuring a Geneva driver.

A Kane County judge will allow "house arrest" for the 80-year-old St. Charles man prosecutors call a suicide driver and a "danger to the community."

Kane County Judge James Hallock made the decision Wednesday while ruling to accept a lower bond for George H. Smith, 1046 N. 5th St., St. Charles.

Prosecutors say Smith was attempting suicide on Aug, 6, when he rammed his car into oncoming traffic on State Street, seriously injuring a Geneva driver. Smith is charged with two Class 3 felonies: aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and aggravated battery with great bodily harm.

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Mark Rein, 46, of Geneva, the driver of the westbound Volvo that was struck by Smith's sports utility vehicle, sustained a serious head injury as well as broken vertebrae, legs and hip.

Assistant State's Attorney Deb Bree said Wednesday that Rein is in stable condition at Good Samaritan Hospital in Downer's Grove.

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Hallock set the bond at $50,000 Wednesday and will allow Smith to stay under confinement at his son's home for the duration of the trial, expected to last two or three months.

At a previous bond hearing on Aug. 20, Kane County Prosecutor Kelly Orland argued that Smith is "a danger to the community" and requested that bond be set at $500,000. She said in a phone interview Wednesday that the State's Attorney's Office still believes Smith is capable of harm.

"Our position is, given his state of mind, he is a danger because he purposefully drove his car into another vehicle at 45 mph," Orland said in a brief phone interview Wednesday.

She said Smith made statements to police after the crash that he was trying to kill himself.

The bond reduction is significant. To be released from custody, a defendant must post 10 percent of the bond, in this case $5,000 rather than $50,000.

Under Hallock's orders, Smith will be electronically monitored and confined to his son's home, except for trips to the judicial center, his lawyer's office or for ongoing medical and psychological treatment.

Prosecutors argued Smith should be put on a strict, real-time GPS monitor but Hallock sided with a Kane County Court Services staff recommendation for a "more passive" electronic monitor that checks on his location every four hours.

Hallock said a Court Services report indicated that Smith was fit for a release to a community caretaker. He said he also took into account that Smith was not a suicide risk at this time, that Smith had no criminal history and that Smith had a right to a reasonable bond.

Smith's attorney, David Camic, called the ruling "fair and appropriate." 

The crash happened shortly after 6 p.m. Aug. 6, on West State Street near Maple Lane, just west of the Kaneville Road "Y" intersection. Smith was driving east on that Friday, when his sports utility vehicle veered into the westbound lane and struck Rein's Volvo, which collided with a third vehicle, Geneva police reports said.

Rein had to be airlifted to Good Samaritan after the crash. Smith was taken to Delnor Hospital in Geneva, where he was treated and released into police custody.  

The drive of the third vehicle was uninjured, Geneva police reports said.

The next court hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. Oct. 1 at the Kane County Judicial Center.

Geneva police Cmdr. Eric Passarelli said that, in his 16 years in the department, he had never seen a case of an attempted suicide by crashing a vehicle into oncoming traffic.

"In a situation like this, I don't think there was any way the other two drivers could have avoided this accident," he said. "It happened so quickly, you just don't time to take evasive action. We feel for the family. It's just a shame this tragic situation occurred."

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