Aggravated DUI – CBS Chicago

CHICAGO (STMW) – An allegedly drunk driver has been charged in connection with a three-vehicle crash that injured nine people — including four police officers — early Monday on the Far South Side.

A man traveling southbound in a Nissan Ultima in the 10200 block of South Indianapolis Avenue struck an unmarked police vehicle parked for a traffic stop about 12:05 a.m., causing a chain reaction, police News Affairs Officer Jose Estrada said.

The Nissan hit the squad car from behind, pushing it into a Chevy Tahoe, Estrada said. An additional squad car assisting during the traffic stop was also struck.

Melvin Brown, 69, has been charged with felony aggravated DUI causing an accident involving bodily harm, as well as two misdemeanor counts of DUI, according to a police News Affairs release.

He was also cited for negligent driving and failing to stay in his lane, the release said.

Police said Monday morning four police officers were taken to hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries.

Of the nine adults involved in the crash, two were taken in critical condition to John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County; one was taken in critical condition to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn; one was taken in fair-to-serious condition to Advocate Trinity Hospital; four were taken in fair-to-serious condition to Roseland Community Hospital; and one refused treatment, fire officials said.

Brown, of the 8100 block of South South Shore Drive, was ordered held on $50,000 bond at a hearing Wednesday, officials said.

He will next appear in court Nov. 8.

ST. CHARLES, Ill. (STMW) – A DeKalb County man pleaded guilty Thursday to driving under the influence of heroin when his SUV struck a car on a snow-packed highway last winter, killing an 11-year-old boy.

Benjamin J. Black, 29, of the 1500 block of Sparkhayes Drive in Sycamore, pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated DUI in Kane County court. Authorities said an analysis of Black’s urine taken immediately after the Feb. 27, 2013, crash revealed the presence of heroin metabolite.

Circuit Judge James Hallock accepted the plea and set Black’s next court appearance for a March 20, 2014, when he faces up to 14 years in prison, according to the Kane County State’s Attorney’s office.

Authorities said the crash occurred about 7:30 p.m. when a 1999 Ford Expedition driven by Black struck the rear of a 1999 Chevrolet Cavalier on Route 64, killing Matthew Ranken, 11, of Sycamore, who was a backseat passenger in the Cavalier.

A passenger in the front seat of the Cavalier, 18-year-old Teale Noble of Sycamore, was severely injured. The Cavalier was being driven by Matthew’s brother, 21-year-old Nicholas Weber of Sycamore, who also was injured, as were the drivers of two other cars the Cavalier was forced into.

The vehicles had been stopped because of a previous accident further west on Route 64.

Black, who also was issued citations charging him with failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident and operating an uninsured vehicle, remains in custody in the Kane County Jail on a $250,000 bond.

“This case is the result of Mr. Black’s selfish and criminal choices, and a terrible reminder of the inherent danger of heroin use,” State’s Attorney Joe McMahon said in a statement.

“Some might view a heroin habit as the self-destruction of the user. But this case is much more than that. This case is a gut-wrenching tragedy,” he said.

CHICAGO (CBS) – A man who crashed a private ambulance into another vehicle on the North Side this week was arrested for driving drunk.

WBBM Newsradio’s Regine Schlesinger reports 31-year-old John Lara, of LaGrange, was driving a Care 1 ambulance around 10:45 a.m. Monday – with his lights and sirens activated – when he hit a pickup truck at Clark and Montrose.

Police officers who arrived to investigate the crash noticed a strong smell of alcohol, and noticed Lara’s eyes were glassy and his speech was slurred.

Police said he was the only one in the ambulance, and was headed to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center to pick up a patient.

Lara’s blood alcohol level was three times the legal limit, police said.

He has been charged with aggravated driving under the influence, disobeying a stop signal, negligent driving, failing to carry a driver’s license, and other offenses.

Lara has been arrested before.

He pleaded guilty to two felony counts of impersonating a police officer and spent six months in prison in 2005, according to court records.

He also was sentenced to probation after pleading guilty to a forgery charge in 2002, court records show.

CHICAGO (STMW) – The crash sent 4-year-old Franklin Jackson flying through the rear window of the car his dad was driving on the Dan Ryan Expressway.

But his father, also named Franklin Jackson, was drunk and didn’t notice the boy had been thrown out of the car when he hit a guard rail in the northbound lanes of the expressway, prosecutors said in court on Christmas Day.

The little boy lay “on a grassy embankment” near the 87th Street exit, according to a police report.

“Wasn’t there a hole in the back window?” Cook County Judge James Brown asked Wednesday.

But Jackson, who is from Texas, didn’t notice the shattered window until he pulled into a gas station to check the damage to his car, Assistant Cook County State’s Attorney Maura White said in court.

Jackson was held on $250,000 bail. He’s charged with reckless homicide and aggravated driving under the influence in the crash Sunday afternoon that claimed the life of 4-year-old Franklin Leon Jackson Jr. The little boy died of head trauma. He hadn’t been belted in, authorities said.

The elder Jackson returned to the scene and found police there.

His wife and their three other children — ages 2, 1 and 3 months — were in the car, authorities said.

Also inside the car, the police found an empty vodka bottle, an empty beer can and an unopened beer, White said.

Jackson admitted he’d been drinking, according to the prosecutor, who said his blood-alcohol level six hours after the crash was .04 percent. That’s below the .08 percent level that’s considered drunk under Illinois’ DUI law, but White said forensic investigators estimated that Jackson’s blood-alcohol level at the time of the crash had been between .11 and .15 percent.

Jackson, 46, suffered broken ribs, his lawyer said in court. In court, he groaned in pain and was allowed to sit while his case was heard.

His attorney told the judge, “This is a terrible tragedy. He’d like to be able to bury his son.”

Lauren Smith, 8, was killed as a result of a rollover crash. (Family handout)

CHICAGO (STMW) – A man was charged with DUI early Friday in connection with a South Side crash on Christmas Eve that killed his 8-year-old daughter.

Jeffery Smith, 26, was charged with aggravated DUI leading to an accident or death, in addition to citations for negligent driving, failure to reduce speed and a child restraint violation.

Late Tuesday night, rescue crews found Smith pinned in a Chevy Impala after it smashed into a tree in the 1000 block of West Garfield Boulevard. The roof of the car was crushed below seat level, fire officials said.

It took more than 40 minutes to extricate Smith from the vehicle, authorities said, and it wasn’t until they were inside that they noticed Lauren Smith, 8, was also pinned inside the car.

The girl, who lived with her father in the 5600 block of South Wolcott Avenue, was taken to University of Chicago Comer Children’s Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 12:42 a.m. Wednesday, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office.

An autopsy conducted Wednesday found Lauren died of multiple injuries she suffered in the crash and her death was ruled an accident.

Smith was taken to Stroger Hospital in critical condition, authorities said. He was still hospitalized early Friday.

Police said the crash was alcohol-related and that Smith was speeding when he hit the tree.

Lorie Hall, Lauren’s grandmother, said she and her daughter — Lauren’s mother — were “still in disbelief” over the deadly crash.

Hall said Smith and Lauren were on their way to her house to celebrate Christmas before the wreck.

“They never showed up,” Hall, 51, said. “I had fallen asleep, but I was still dressed and waiting for him to bring her here. We were going to make gingerbread houses.”

Hall said she woke up to a phone call from her 27-year-old daughter Loressa, who told her about the tragedy. The two then rushed to the hospital. Lauren was Loressa Hall’s only child.

Lorie Hall said her daughter went to the hospital Thursday morning to visit Smith.

“He loves his daughter very much, I don’t see him putting her in harm’s way,” Hall said of Smith.

“I don’t know what Loressa is going through because all of my babies are still alive,” Hall said. “I can only imagine what it would be like to have one of your babies taken from you suddenly. She’ll be in mourning for quite a long time.”

WHEATON, Ill. (STMW) – A convicted burglar who also spent time in jail 11 years ago for inebriated driving stands accused of having been under the influence of narcotics when his pickup truck allegedly struck and killed a bicyclist early last fall on Naperville’s far northeast side.

Joshua R. Spuhler, 36, of Aurora, has also been found guilty at least three times of drug-related offenses. He is free on $25,000 bond and awaiting trial on a felony charge of aggravated DUI in an accident causing death, according to records on file in DuPage County Circuit Court in Wheaton.

Spuhler, a former Naperville resident, is accused of striking bicyclist Shwu-Wei Yeh with his pickup truck about 7:25 a.m. Sept. 25, as both were traveling near Diehl Road and Freedom Drive, just south of Interstate 88.

Yeh, 56, lived on the 900 block of East Amberwood Circle in Naperville’s Edgewood neighborhood. Her home was about a mile south and west of the crash scene.

Naperville police Cmdr. Lou Cammiso said Yeh was hit by a gray, 2006 Nissan Titan. The truck was traveling east on Diehl Road as Yeh was attempting to cross the street to the north, just east of its intersection with Freedom Drive, Cammiso said last year.

The pickup driver was not identified by police following the crash, but Cammiso said he told investigators he “just felt like he hit somebody, (but) didn’t see anyone.”

Paramedics took Yeh to Edward Hospital in Naperville, where she later died of her injuries.

Cmdr. Ken Parcel on Thursday said police consulted with investigators from DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert B. Berlin’s office before charging Spuhler with aggravated driving under the influence of a controlled substance. Spuhler surrendered Tuesday night at the police station to undergo fingerprinting, photographing and processing, and was later released on bond, Parcel said in a release.

An examination of documents on file in Will County Circuit Court in Joliet revealed Naperville police arrested Spuhler on June 12, 2002 in connection with two home burglaries that had occurred over the previous two days.

Spuhler on Feb. 21, 2003 was found guilty of charges of residential burglary, attempted residential burglary and use of a credit card of another, court records indicated. A judge that day sentenced him to concurrent terms totaling four years in prison, records showed.

Records on file in Kane County Circuit Court indicated Spuhler was charged in March 1997 with burglary. Details of that alleged crime could not be immediately learned.

Naperville police in late October 1998 arrested Spuhler for driving under the influence of alcohol and several other traffic-related offenses, according to DuPage County Circuit Court records.

He was sentenced in March 2003 to 74 days in DuPage County Jail in that case, records showed.

Spuhler was ticketed in March 1996 by Naperville police for possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. Records indicated he paid fines and legal costs to settle that case.

He was arrested again in September 1997 for misdemeanor possession of between 10 and 30 grams of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia in Aurora, according to records. He was sentenced in July 1999 to 20 days in jail.

Aurora police arrested Spuhler again in July 1998 on a charge of possession of 2.5 grams or less of marijuana. Records showed a judge in December of that year placed him on a year of conditional discharge, a form of probation.

Spuhler was arrested yet again in May 1999 on a charge of resisting a police officer in Aurora. Records indicated he was sentenced that July to 70 days in jail.

Parcel said Spuhler is scheduled to appear Feb. 10 in court to answer the aggravated DUI charge.

(STMW) – A man has been charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs in connection with a crash that killed two women on the Eisenhower Expressway in west suburban Forest Park Sunday morning.

Aaron I. Moore, 26, was charged with two counts of aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol resulting in death, two counts of aggravated driving under the influence of drugs resulting in death and two counts of leaving the scene of a fatal crash, according to Illinois State Police.

About 3:45 a.m. Sunday, a 1998 Ford Windstar van was stalled in the eastbound center lane on the expressway (I-290) near the First Avenue exit when it was rear ended by a 2012 Dodge Durango SUV, according to a statement from Illinois State Police.

The Ford’s driver, 30-year-old Evelette Rivera, and back seat passenger, 29-year-old Krystle Hernandez, both died on impact, according to police and the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office.

Rivera, of the 2900 block of North Merrimac Avenue, and Hernandez, of the 3700 block of West Grand Avenue, were both pronounced dead at the scene at 3:55 a.m., the medical examiner’s office said.

Moore and a 25-year-old woman who was in the SUV with him were taken to an area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, according to Illinois State Police.

Moore, of Chicago, is scheduled to appear in bond court in west suburban Maywood Tuesday.

MINOOKA, Ill. (STMW) – A southwest suburban man has been charged with DUI after a Bridgeview man in his pickup truck was killed in a crash early Thursday on I-80 in Minooka.

The crash happened on I-80 at mile marker 118 at 5:25 a.m., Illinois State Police said in a statement.

A Ford pickup traveling west hit the rear of a Freightliner semi parked on the shoulder, police said. The pickup bounced back into the roadway, striking a Lexus that was traveling west.

Rafal Szczepanik, a 26-year-old man from Bridgeview who was a passenger in the pickup, was pronounced dead at the scene at 7:45 a.m., according to the Grundy County Coroner’s office.

All three drivers were taken to area hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries, police said.

The driver of the pickup — 28-year-old Jaroslaw W. Mietus of Hickory Hills — was released from the hospital and charged with aggravated DUI, police said. He was taken to the Grundy County Adult Detention Facility.

All westbound lanes on I-80 were closed for several hours, but reopened about 10:35 a.m., police said.

ST. CHARLES, Ill. (STMW) – On Thursday afternoon, Benjamin Black sat on the witness stand in a Kane County courtroom and looked into the devastated eyes of the Ranken family.

The 29-year-old Sycamore man, who faces between three and 14 years in prison, has already pleaded guilty to being under the influence of heroin when he slammed his car into the back of a vehicle on Feb. 27, 2013, killing 11-year-old Matthew Ranken. During his sentencing hearing on Thursday, Black again took responsibility for his actions.

“Words cannot express how much remorse I feel for my actions that lead to this accident,” Black, wearing orange prison clothes, told the crowd of approximately 20 people who showed up to watch him be sentenced. “Not a day goes by that I don’t think about Matthew … I hope when all is said and done, this establishes some closure for the family.”

Closure will have to wait. After hearing the testimony of first responders, arguments from both prosecutors and Black’s attorney, the victim impact statement of Matthew’s mother, Tonda Ranken, and the statement Black gave himself, Judge James Hallock said he would wait until Wednesday to hand down Black’s sentence.

He said ruling on Thursday would not give “either side the due diligence this matter deserves.”

So, the Ranken family will wait another week before they find out how much time Black will serve for causing the crash that killed Matthew.

According to police testimony, Matthew had been riding in the back seat of a 1999 Chevrolet Cavalier driven by his brother, Nicholas Weber, when they happened upon an accident on Route 64, west of Peplow Road in unincorporated Virgil Township, just before 7:30 p.m.

The vehicle was the last car in a row of approximately 15 cars that had stopped, waiting for emergency crews to clear the scene of the crash.

That’s when police said Black, driving approximately 55 mph, failed to slow down for the stopped vehicle, and drove into the back of Weber’s car, causing a chain reaction crash.

Sgt. John Grimes of the Kane County Sheriff’s Department responded to the crash. When he recalled what he saw that evening, Grimes’ eyes welled-up with tears on the witness stand.

“I busted out the back window (of Weber’s vehicle), climbed in, and couldn’t tell if (Matthew) had a pulse or not,” Grimes said.

On the scene, Black told officers that he had tried to slow down when he saw the emergency vehicles and the line of stopped cars, but that he slid on a patch of ice, causing his vehicle to rear-end Weber’s car. Police said there was no indication that he had tried to stop, or that there was ice on the road.

Black submitted urine and blood samples following the crash, and experts testified that heroin metabolites and Xanax were present in his blood at the time of the crash.

“Anyone who was not impaired and who was paying attention would have been able to see that accident,” Assistant State’s Attorney Joseph Cullen said. “Everybody else was able to stop.”

Black has admitted to using heroin 24 hours before the crash occurred. He eventually pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated drunken driving.

Tonda Ranken testified about her son Matthew’s huge smile and bright blue eyes. She spoke of their mornings drinking coffee together and evenings spent watching cartoons.

She smiled briefly, remembering fond memories of her youngest child, then began to cry as her new reality set in.

The Ranken family had once been complete, “until the night our lives came to an abrupt stop,” she said. “That will forever be the day our lives stopped being whole.”

Black, who admits to using drugs since he was 16 years old, has sought relief several times from his addiction, his attorney D.J. Tegeler told Judge Hallock.

“He made a fatal error to start using again,” Tegeler said.

CHICAGO (STMW) – Shane Stokowski thought the man he spotted leaving a West Town bar was too drunk to drive, so he followed him out to the parking lot, according to Cook County prosecutors.

Stokowski then went up to the SUV Timothy McShane allegedly got into and leaned into the driver’s side window in an apparent attempt to stop McShane from driving away late Saturday afternoon, the Chicago Sun-Times is reporting.

But McShane, who has a suspended driver’s license and previous DUI arrests, backed out of the Aberdeen Tap’s parking lot, hit several cars and sped off with the 33-year-old Stokowski still hanging on to the vehicle’s window, Assistant State’s Attorney Dan Griffin said.

McShane, 42, drove for three-quarters of a block in the 400 block of North Aberdeen before Stokowski fell and hit the pavement, Griffin said.

Stokowski died of blunt trauma to the head and abrasions from the pavement, authorities said. Police said he had been run over by another vehicle.

Instead of contacting police, McShane went to his girlfriend’s house, parked her Nissan Murano and fell asleep for three hours, Griffin said.

When police found him there, McShane told them that Stokowski had tried to attack him and that he fled in fear, according to a police report.

McShane, a father of one, also told officers that Stokowski tried to rob and beat him and made a mark on his neck, the report said.

Hours after he left the bar — at 1:06 am. Sunday — McShane’s blood-alcohol level was still .225, more than twice the state’s legal .08 limit, Griffin said.

Before the fatal hit-and-run, McShane, who works in construction, and Stokowski were having drinks with their respective friends at separate tables at the Aberdeen Tap, 458 North Aberdeen, Griffin said.

A little before 4:50 p.m., the bartender stopped serving McShane because he was drunk, Griffin said.

McShane was ordered held in lieu of $350,000 bail Tuesday for reckless homicide, aggravated DUI and leaving the scene of an accident.

He received court supervision in 1993 for a DUI.

McShane was arrested again in 2006 for another DUI but that charge was reduced to reckless driving.

McShane’s had an address listed in Park Ridge and another in Arlington Heights in the police reports.

ST. CHARLES, Ill. (STMW) – A Sycamore man has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for driving under the influence of heroin and killing an 11-year-old boy last year.

Benjamin Black, 29, was sentenced to 12 years in prison Wednesday for the Feb. 27, 2013, crash that killed 11-year-old Matthew Ranken, according to the Kane County State’s Attorney’s office. Black pleaded guilty to aggravated DUI in December.

The vehicle was the last car in a row of about 15 that had stopped, waiting for emergency crews to clear the scene of the crash.

That’s when police said Black, driving about 55 mph, failed to slow down for the stopped vehicle, and drove into the back of Weber’s car, causing a chain-reaction crash.

Sgt. John Grimes of the Kane County Sheriff’s Department responded to the crash. When he recalled what he saw that evening, Grimes’ eyes welled-up with tears on the witness stand.

“I busted out the back window (of Weber’s vehicle), climbed in, and couldn’t tell if (Matthew) had a pulse or not,” Grimes said.

Black submitted urine and blood samples following the crash, and experts testified that heroin metabolites and Xanax were present in his blood at the time of the crash.

Black has admitted to using heroin 24 hours before the crash occurred. He eventually pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated drunken driving.

WAUKEGAN, Ill. (STMW) – Antioch teenager Jeremy Betancourt pleaded guilty Thursday to aggravated DUI for a crash that caused the death of 16-year-old Antioch High School student Cynthia Perez.

Under a negotiated deal approved by Judge Victoria Rossetti, Betancourt pleaded guilty to aggravated driving under the influence of marijuana, a Class 2 felony, while other charges against him, including aggravated street racing and reckless homicide, were dropped.

He is scheduled to be sentenced June 30.

Assistant State’s Attorney Lauren Kalcheim Rothenberg said the state wants Betancourt to serve time in the Illinois Department of Corrections. The deal caps any prison sentence he could receive at 10 years.

But probation is also an option, Rossetti said, and indicated that if the defense can provide proper mitigating circumstances, she would consider intensive probation with a “significant period of periodic imprisonment,” possibly 30 months.

Rossetti said that at the June sentencing hearing, she will take a final probationary report, as well as arguments from both sides, under consideration when determining his sentence.

The judge told Betancourt, who is out on $100,000 bond with strict conditions, that “the period between now and sentencing is very important. Any violations of any conditions and there would not be probation.”

After the hearing Thursday, defense attorney Jed Stone said he is confident Betancourt will receive a probationary sentence. He has stressed that Betancourt had drug and mental health issues when the crash occurred, but has since received treatment, is working on rehabilitation and is complying with intensive conditions set by Rossetti.

“Now we have a kid on an upward trajectory,” he said, adding that Betancourt and his family are very aware of the pain and loss suffered by the family of Perez.

Betancourt was charged following a crash on Route 120 in Gurnee, just east of Hunt Club Road, that occurred on June 24, 2013, while he was street racing with another car. Perez was a passenger in his car and was ejected from the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene.

The driver of the other car, Michael R. Dawson, 19, also of Antioch, pleaded guilty to aggravated street racing in a negotiated agreement last year, and was sentenced to 30 months of intensive probation, including 18 months of periodic imprisonment in Lake County Jail.

CHICAGO (STMW) – A man has been charged with DUI after allegedly striking a woman with his vehicle Saturday evening in the North Side Norwood Park neighborhood.

Ciprian Tanase, 34, faces felony counts of aggravated DUI, failure to report an accident and driving on a revoked license, police announced early Tuesday.

The 50-year-old woman was walking in the 5800 block of North Milwaukee Avenue about 7 p.m. Saturday when she was hit by a car which then sped from the scene, police and fire officials said at the time.

The woman was taken in critical condition to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, police said.

Tanase, of the 5200 block of West Foster Avenue, also was charged with misdemeanor counts of failure to give information or aid and driving without insurance, in addition to one municipal count of negligent driving.

He is scheduled to appear in bond court Tuesday.

CHICAGO (STMW) – A man was ordered held on $500,000 bond Tuesday after allegedly striking a woman with his vehicle Saturday evening in the North Side Norwood Park neighborhood.

Ciprian Tanase, 34, faces felony counts of aggravated DUI, failure to report an accident and driving on a revoked license, police said.

The woman was taken in critical condition to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, police said.

He is next scheduled to appear in court April 8.

DES PLAINES, Ill. (STMW) – Police say a northwest suburban man was driving under the influence of alcohol when he fatally struck a Chicago man Wednesday night in Des Plaines.

Robert Grossman, 44, is charged with one count of aggravated DUI resulting in death, according to a statement from Des Plaines police.

Grossman was driving west on Touhy Avenue near Frontage Road when he struck 42-year-old Kenneth Davis about 8:20 p.m., police said.

Davis, of the 2900 block of West Rosemont Avenue in Chicago, was taken to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge where he was pronounced dead at 9:04 p.m., according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office.

Grossman was also hospitalized after the crash, police said. Two passengers in his vehicle were not injured.

Grossman, of the 26200 block of West Boesch Place in Ingleside, is scheduled to appear in bond court in Skokie on Friday.

CHICAGO (STMW) – A suspected wrong-way driver involved in a deadly crash on Lake Shore Drive early Friday was released from jail Monday night after posting bail.

Erik Johnson, 23, of the 3500 block of North Janssen, who was also injured in the crash, made his first court appearance Sunday afternoon. He was charged with one count of aggravated DUI causing an accident or death, two counts of aggravated DUI causing an accident or bodily harm, and misdemeanor counts of DUI and improper use of a controlled access highway, according to Chicago Police.

He was initially ordered held on $750,000 bond, but Judge Donald Panarese reduced the amount to $500,000 on Monday.

Johnson was released from jail Monday evening after posting $50,000 bail, Cook County Sheriff’s spokesman Ben Breit said.

About 2 a.m. Friday, Johnson was driving a 2014 Subaru SUV southbound in the northbound lanes of Lake Shore Drive near Randolph Street when the vehicle struck a taxi head-on, authorities said.

The crash killed one of the taxi’s two passengers — University of Chicago Law School student Laura Anne LaPlante, 26, of Hancock, N.H., who was on track to graduate this summer, according to a university spokesman.

LaPlante and the other passenger, who were not wearing seat belts, were partially ejected from the cab, prosecutors said.

After the crash, Johnson exited his vehicle and urinated on the median of Lake Shore Drive, prosecutors said. He told paramedics that he drank “five to six beers and shots” before he got behind the wheel, prosecutors said in court.

Johnson told police that he was driving to Saint Louis, according to a Chicago Police report. The report indicated Johnson, whom authorities say had a blood alcohol level of .195 — more than twice the legal limit, had three passengers in the back seat of his vehicle at the time of the crash.

The cabbie and the other passenger in the taxi — a 25-year-old man university officials said also is a U. of C. law student — were taken to Northwestern Memorial in serious condition. Johnson was treated at John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County.

WAUKEGAN, Ill. (STMW) – Following failed attempts to reach a negotiated deal, the trial of 19-year-old Carly Rousso for allegedly running over and killing a 5-year-old girl while driving under the influence of an inhalant is scheduled to begin Tuesday morning.

Rousso and her attorney, Douglas Zeit, have opted for a bench trial in which Judge James Booras will reach the verdict in the case. Attempts by Zeit and prosecutors to reach a negotiated plea deal in the case have been declared “at an impasse.”

The Highland Park teen pleaded not guilty to a felony charge of aggravated DUI resulting in death, punishable by between three and 14 years in prison. She also pleaded not guilty to reckless homicide, which can result in probation or a prison sentence of two to five years.

According to prosecutors, Rousso drove over and killed 5-year-old Jaclyn Santos of Highwood on Central Avenue in downtown Highland Park on Labor Day 2012, after “huffing” a computer cleaning chemical agent.

Despite the failure to reach a resolution, Zeit said the bench trial would be short because much of the information in the case would stipulated and not contested.

Rousso has been free on bail after her family posted a $500,000 bond.

A settlement was reached in a civil case the Santos family filed against Rousso, but details of the agreement have not been released to the public.

Santos was walking with her mother and two siblings on a downtown Highland Park sidewalk when she was run over by a car driven by Rousso, according to prosecutors.

Updated 05/27/14 – 5:35 p.m.

WAUKEGAN, Ill. (CBS) – A teenager accused of huffing computer cleaner before running over a 5-year-old girl two years ago has pleaded guilty to reckless homicide, but still faces trial for aggravated DUI charges.

Carly Rousso, 19, has opted for a bench trial on a felony charge of aggravated DUI resulting in death, after failing to reach a plea agreement with Lake County prosecutors in the death of 5-year-old Jaclyn Santos-Sacramento.

Prosecutors have said Rousso huffed an aerosol can of keyboard cleaner on Labor Day 2012, before plowing her parents’ Lexus into the Sacramento family on a sidewalk in Highland Park. Five-year-old Jaclyn Santos-Sacramento was killed in the crash. Her mother, Modesta Sacramento-Jimenez, and two brothers also were injured.

Prosecutors, Defense Spar Over Constitutionality Of DUI Charge

court generic 2 Trial Begins For Teen Accused Of Huffing Before Fatal Crash

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CBS 2’s Mike Puccinelli reports Rousso pleaded guilty to a count of reckless homicide before her bench trial began on Tuesday, but prosecutors wouldn’t budge on a more serious charge of aggravated DUI, which carries a sentence of up to 14 years.

The defense has challenged the aggravated DUI charge is unconstitutional, because the aerosol cleaning agent Rousso allegedly inhaled before the crash was not specifically mentioned as an intoxicant in the law.

Assistant Lake County State’s Attorney Michael Ori said Rousso lost control of the car after huffing Blast Away, a computer cleaner containing difluoroethane, a chemical compound that can have a similar effect to alcohol when inhaled.

“There is no ambiguity in this statute. The statute is as ambiguous as the defendant’s intentions in inhaling the Blast Away, and there is no ambiguity regarding the defendant’s intentions.”

However, Defense attorney Douglas Zeit argued difluoroethane is not covered by Illinois DUI laws, or in half a dozen other states.

“None of which, judge, had difluoroethane on any list of compounds that was illegal,” he said.

Prosecutors played recordings of 911 calls, and videotape of the actual collision as they presented their case on Tuesday. After the initial impact, the Lexus bounced off two walls, and ran over the family two more times. They also played a video of Rousso’s statement taped in her hospital room hours after the accident.

Jaclyn Santos-Sacramento, 5, was hit and killed by a car in Highland Park Monday. (Credit: CBS)

Prosecutors said it all happened because Rousso wanted to get high.

“It was at this point, somewhere between leaving the Walgreens store on Deerfield, and the parking lot near 757 Central Avenue, that she lost consciousness, turned her car across lanes of oncoming traffic, up over a curb, down a sidewalk, and directly into Modesta and her children,” Ori said.

Zeit said prosecutors would fail to prove Rousso is guilty of aggravated DUI.

“She is clearly guilty of the reckless homicide, judge. And again let there be no question, we think that was a horrendous, horrendous thing,” he said.

Three witnesses testified for the prosecution Tuesday morning, including two people who tried to assist in the immediate aftermath of the collision, and a police officer who responded to the five 911 calls made in the case.

Closing arguements are set for Thursday afternoon.

CHICAGO (STMW) – A man is facing DUI charges after he fatally struck a panhandler early Sunday in the West Town neighborhood.

Manuel Guerrero-Lopez, 26, of the 8100 block of South Kostner Avenue, faces one felony count of aggravated DUI and misdemeanor counts of disobeying a red signal, DUI and failure to exercise due care to avoid a pedestrian, according to Chicago Police.

Guerrero-Lopez was driving west in the 5100 block of North Avenue about 6:30 a.m. Sunday when he ran the red light at the Kennedy Expressway ramp and struck a vehicle heading south from the ramp, according to a police report.

His SUV rolled onto its side into the oncoming lanes and struck a pedestrian who was panhandling in the middle of the street, according to police.

The panhandler, 73-year-old Charles Jones, was pronounced dead on the scene at 6:48 a.m., according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office.

Jones, of the 500 block of Monroe Street in Valparaiso, Ind., died of multiple injuries from a motor vehicle striking a pedestrian and his death was ruled an accident, according to the medical examiner’s office.

Guerrero-Lopez’s blood alcohol content was nearly twice the legal limit, according to police. He was taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center with injuries after the crash.

Judge Laura Sullivan ordered Guerrero-Lopez held on $250,000 bond Tuesday, according to the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office. He is next scheduled to appear in court June 23.

CHICAGO (STMW) – A southwest suburban man was charged and ordered held on $500,000 bond in connection with a Burbank crash that killed an elderly Chicago man.

Nicholas Raspanti, 42, of Hickory Hills, was charged with two counts of aggravated DUI in connection to a July 1 crash that killed 77-year-old Jozef Brzek, according to a statement from Burbank police.

About 6:45 p.m. on July 1, a vehicle traveling northeast on State Road near Mayfield crossed into oncoming traffic and crashed head-on with another vehicle traveling southwest, police said.

Brzek, of the 4300 block of Ford City Drive, was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he died at 9:19 a.m. on July 5, the medical examiner’s office said.

An autopsy Sunday found he died of multiple injuries from a motor vehicle collision and listed heart disease as a secondary factor, the medical examiner’s office said. His death was ruled an accident.

Raspanti was ordered held on $500,000 and is next scheduled to appear in court in Bridgeview on Aug. 8, according to the Cook County Sheriff’s office.

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