A 25 year old Alton man, Jeffrey Rynders, is facing several serious charges, including Aggravated DUI Causing Death after a fatal crash that claimed the life of a 66 year old motorcyclist and left his wife in critical condition. Gary Wright of Wood River, Illinois was riding a red Harley Davidson motorcycle, with his wife as a passenger, on Landmark Boulevard near the Clark Bridge at around 630pm on Sunday, September 15th, 2013. According to investigators, Rynders, who was driving a green colored Nissan Sentra tried to turn left to get onto the bridge but struck the Wrights instead.
Rynders attempted to flee the crash site on foot. He was pursued by two witnesses and apprehended by a man who was standing in the parking lot at Riverbend Billards & Grill, where all three Good Samaritans held him until police arrived. According to investigators just seconds before colliding with the Wrights Rynders had been involved in what they termed a ‘road rage incident.’ According to witnesses he had been observed leaving his car at a signal light and yelling at the driver of a car behind him who had honked their horn when Rynders failed to move his car after the stoplight turned green. He is being held on $125,000 bail.