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A Chicago woman allegedly smoked pot, drank before fatal crash

On Behalf of | Sep 20, 2017 | Firm News, motor vehicle accidents

A 29-year-old Chicago woman was arraigned on a single aggravated count of driving under the influence during a hearing at a Cook County courthouse on Wednesday, Sept. 13. She stands accused of driving around the city both drunk and while smoking marijuana laced with PCP before becoming involved in car crash. That collision claimed the life of one of her four passengers, a 33-year-old man.

Witness accounts place the woman driving her 1992 Volvo southbound along Oakley Avenue in the direction of Van Buren Street when she came upon a red light shortly before 12:10 a.m. Instead of stopping at it, she is alleged to have continued through the intersection. It’s that she was t-boned by a Dodge Charger.

The impact of the crash ultimately caused the Dodge’s driver to crash into a phone pole. The Volvo’s driver ended up colliding with a concrete curb. Both vehicles were so significantly mangled that it required the Jaws of Life to extract all but one of the survivors.

Once freed from the vehicle, the Volvo’s front seat passenger was transported to Stroger Hospital. He died soon after his arrival there. Its three other passengers suffered a variety of injuries, including head trauma and broken bones. It’s unclear if the Charger’s driver suffered any injuries in the crash, although he was transported to Northwestern for observation.

Surveillance video taken by a school camera in the area confirmed that the woman had run a red light before colliding with the Charger.

The driver of the Volvo, who was also taken to Stroger for an evaluation, had her blood alcohol concentration (BAC) tested there. It registered a .0288, well over Illinois’ legal limit of .08. The toxicology results showed that there was a presence of PCP in her system as well.

During her arraignment that Wednesday, the judge in the case denied her attorney’s request that bail should be set at $500,000. He ordered that she be held in custody until her trial date instead.

Negligent drivers, whether they’re driving the vehicle you’re riding in or the one that strikes you, claim thousands of passenger lives each year in this country. If you’ve been seriously hurt because of someone else’s negligence, then a Chicago car crash lawyer may advise you of your right to recover medical expenses in your case.

Source: Chicago Tribune, “Woman drank and smoked PCP-laced pot before crash killed passenger: Prosecutors,” Sep. 13, 2017

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