Oswego man found guilty in 2021 DUI crash that killed Somonauk man

An Oswego man found guilty in a deadly two-car crash that killed a Somonauk man in November 2021 is set to be sentenced in June.

Oscar Cano, 37, was found guilty of aggravated driving under the influence by Kendall County Judge Jody Gleason in a March bench trial. His sentencing hearing is set for June 2.

Killed in the crash was Robert Gray, 38, of Somonauk. The crash occurred at 6:32 p.m. Nov. 21 near the intersection of Millington and Millhurst roads in unincorporated Fox Township.

“Obviously, the judge agreed that we had proven our case beyond a reasonable doubt,” Kendall County State’s Attorney Eric Weis said in talking with Shaw Media about the case. “We’re very happy with the verdict and we’re happy to see that while it’s been a long time coming, that this case is finally coming to a resolution in a very positive manner. Although nothing will bring back someone who loses their life, at least the family can start to see some justice, at least through the criminal court system.”

Cano was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the crash, Weis said.

After being found guilty, Cano was taken into custody and is being held in the Kendall County Public Safety Center.

According to the Kendall County Sheriff’s Office, Cano was traveling west on Millhurst Road and collided with another vehicle being driven by Gray that was traveling north on Millington Road. Gray was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash.

Cano and a male passenger in his vehicle were both ejected from the vehicle and were taken to area hospitals with serious injuries.

At one point, Cano had contended that his passenger was the one driving the car at the time of the crash.

“The identity of the driver was the issue in this case,” Weis said. “He tried to indicate that somebody else was driving the vehicle, that he was not, in essence. The judge found that we had proven that Cano was the driver beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Because of the circumstances involved, Weis said the case took longer than usual to prosecute. Neither Cano and his passenger were wearing seat belts at the time of the crash.

“Because they weren’t restrained and then the ‘I’m not the driver defense,’ it’s been kind of a burden on us to make sure that we had sufficient evidence to go forward,” he said.

Weis said there was a lot of forensic testing done inside of the vehicle.

“Both sides had reconstruction experts,” he said. “There was video animation presented by the state and DNA evidence and forensic evidence from inside of the vehicle that took a long time to test and get ready as well. It was a little more complicated than what I would call your typical DUI crash or accident type case.”

Cano had been charged with four felony counts of aggravated driving under the influence causing death and four counts of aggravated driving under the influence causing injury.