Gladys Ruvira-Garcia 5600 block of W. 22nd Place, Cicero

Felony drunken driving charges have been filed against a Cicero woman who drove her car into an Aurora retention pond in the early morning hours of Sunday, Oct. 15, leaving her 6-year-old son submerged inside.

Gladys Ruvira-Garcia 5600 block of W. 22nd Place, Cicero, faces three counts of aggravated DUI, endangering the life of a child, driving with no insurance, failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident, and not having a valid driver’s license. She is currently in the DuPage County Jail with a $500,000 bond.

Ruvira-Garcia’s 6-year-old son remains in critical condition in a medically induced coma after being submerged in the car for 30 minutes before Aurora Fire Department divers could rescue him.

The incident began around 2:40 a.m. on Oct. 15 as Ruvira-Garcia drove through Aurora with her 21-year-old sister, her two daughters, 15 and 12, and her 6-year-old son in the vehicle. She told police that she was on her way back to Cicero after attending a party in Aurora when she lost control of her vehicle near Interstate 88 and Diehl Road in Aurora.

Aurora Police Department spokesman Dan Ferrelli said Ruvira-Garcia was exiting Interstate 88 and was turning left (westbound) onto Diehl Road when she went off the roadway and ended up in the retention pond.

DuPage County prosecutors said Ruvira-Garcia, her sister and the two teenagers were able to escape the sinking vehicle, but left Ruvira-Garcia’s son behind as the vehicle sank into the water.

Less than 15 minutes after the crash occurred, an Aurora Fire Department surface swimmer was deployed to help locate the vehicle and the boy.  Two Water Rescue Team divers then entered the water and began searching for the vehicle, Ferrelli said.

About six minutes later, at 3:03 a.m., the SUV and child were located about 80 feet from shore; in approximately 15 feet of water.

The child was immediately taken to a local hospital and then transferred to a suburban Chicago hospital, prosecutors said.

Ruvira-Garcia was taken into custody at the scene of the crash. Prosecutors said that Ruvira-Garcia allegedly had a blood alcohol content above 0.14.

“Like all alleged DUI cases, the situation Ms. Ruvira-Garcia finds herself in today was 100 percent avoidable,” DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said. “As I have said numerous times in the past, if you have been drinking, do not drive. It is a very simple concept but unfortunately, far too many times, people fail to heed this advice and tragedy follows, as is alleged in this case.”

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