Driver in Hoffman Estates crash that killed high school sweethearts held on $2M bond

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. (WLS) -- An Elgin man was held on $2 million bond on Monday after being charged in a suspected DUI crash that left two recently graduated high school sweethearts dead over the weekend.

Deni Rubio, 32, has been charged with reckless homicide, aggravated DUI resulting in death and attempting to disarm a peace officer, Hoffman Estates police said.

According to prosecutors, Rubio was apparently speeding when he turned right at a red light at Barrington and Higgins roads in Hoffman Estates on Saturday morning. That's when he collided with the young couple's car. D'Shaun Tudela and his partner, Amelia Mazeikis, both 18, died.

Witnesses told police on scene the suspect had sped through another red light moments before the crash. When officers got to the scene, prosecutors said they found Rubio shirtless.

A confrontation ensued and court documents state Rubio was able to get his hands on two magazines from one of the officers.

He was eventually subdued and taken to the hospital where it was determined his blood alcohol level was .136. And, prosecutors said suspected drugs were found in his pockets that tested positive for cocaine and fentanyl.

Rubio is also being held on no bond for another case out of Maywood.

D'Shaun's mother, Krystal Tudela, voiced her heartache outside the Rolling Meadows courthouse.

"It's unfortunate. They were taken far too young. They were only at the peak of their potential," Krystal said. "It didn't bring any relief, because at the end of the day, he walked away with bumps and scratches, and our children walked away without their lives."

The victims' families gathered on Sunday night to remember them both at a Schaumburg church.

"He was an amazing individual, touched a lot of souls," Krystal said.

Dinner will never be the same at the family table where Krystal said her oldest son served his best meals.

"He had goals and accomplishments. He had a path," Krystal said. "This table will never be the same."

Aspiring to one day be a Japanese cuisine chef, those dreams are no more.

SEE ALSO: Recently-graduated high school sweethearts killed in Hoffman Estates crash, family says

"What 17-year-old can cook up a slab of ribs? It's like, this year, it just won't be the same anymore," Krystal Tudela said. "He had been looking at culinary arts schools for over the past year. Those dreams and aspirations of going somewhere, that's not a reality anymore."

D'Shaun Tudela was in the passenger seat as his partner, Mazeikis, was driving him to work Saturday morning. That's when, his mother said, another car went through a red light near Higgins and Barrington roads, colliding with their car.

"No one or nowhere is that important to run a red light and impact so many lives," Tudela said.

She said the two had just graduated Schaumburg High School, and they were a loving couple until their tragic end. They were also members of a youth program at Our Saviour's United Methodist Church in Schaumburg.

"I hope, in my mind, that they were just holding hands and were at peace together," Tudela said.

Tudela's mother said she got the devastating call that the young couple were killed in a crash while she was catching a flight home from Texas.

"Strangers just grabbed me and held me while the officer talked to me, and I just sat there delay after delay, just trying to get home," Tudela said. "Hoping he did not have to suffer. And, the fact that I was so far away makes it even harder."

Police said two other groups involved in the crash just before 9 a.m. Saturday were transported to local hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries.

On Monday, grief counselors were available at Schaumburg High School, where the couple just graduated weeks ago.

Authorities did not immediately provide further information about the crash.