Chicago DUI Lawyer Blog

Monday evening, four women and four children were southbound on I-90/94 near 75th Street when the driver allegedly lost control and struck a guard rail. According to the Illinois State Police, three of the four children were ejected from the two-door Oldsmobile Cutlass, none of them were wearing a seal belt. Four adult women were also injured in the crash, the driver was taken to Stroger Hospital. An 11-month-old, Everett Bramlett, was killed in the crash according to the Cook County medical examiner's office. As of 8 p.m. last night, a 6-year-old boy was listed in critical condition and two female children were listed in good condition.

Alcohol was allegedly a factor in the accident and DUI charges are pending against the woman who was driving. The crash closed the Dan Ryan Expresway for about two hours on Monday evening.

Alcohol blamed in Ryan crash that killed child, injured 7, www.chicagotribune.com, May 31, 2011

Dwight Washington, 61, has been charged with felony aggravated driving under the influence after allegedly plowing into a crowd of eight people on Chicago's near North Side last weekend. The truck lost control at the three-way intersection of Rush, Cedar, and State streets. Several pedestrians were injured including persons posing for wedding photos.

Washington works for the Chicago streets and sanitation department. A Cook County Assistant State's Attorney told a judge that Washington's BAC was .183 at the time and a bottle of brandy was found in the defendant's Ford F150. Washington's bond was set at $400,000, he was also charged with negligent driving, failure to reduce speed and transporting open alcohol in a vehicle. Washington was allegedly involved in another accident since being hired by the city, however, the prior accident did not involve alcohol.

The City of Chicago as well as Washington are being sued by the injured.

Chicago worker charged with DUI in crash, www.chicagotribune.com, May 23, 2011

Chicago sued after city employee hits pedestrians in DUI accident, www.examiner.com, May 23, 2011

Prison inmate John Francis Wood, 49, has filed suit against DuPage County jail guards who he claims are responsible for losing his $9,000.00 dentures.

The lawsuit states Woods left the dentures in a cup in his cell during a shakedown in May of 2009 and when he re-entered the room the cup was on the floor but the dentures were missing.

Woods is seeking to have the bridge replaced plus a reasonable amount for his "pain and suffering." Woods was incarcerated after a DUI charge and is currently serving ten years in a state prison.

Woods reportedly has a history of traffic violations and six driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol convictions dating back 30 years.

Ex-inmate sues DuPage over missing dentures, www.chicagotribune.com, May 11, 2011
Inmate blames DuPage guards for lost dentures, www.dailyherald.com, May 11, 2011

The family of Justyna Palka, 24, who was killed after being hit by a tour bus in the Streeterville neighborhood, has filed a lawsuit against the bus company. The suit alleges wrongful death claiming that Pontarelli Group Charters should not have hired David Soto, the driver of the bus. The suit alleges the bus company was negligent in hiring and retaining a convicted felon who had approximately 20 citations for traffic violations and whose Commercial Drivers License (CDL) was temporarily suspended in 2008. The suit also claims that the bus company should have known that Soto was wanted for sexually assaulting two girls.

Soto remains in Cook County jail charged with aggravated DUI. Cook County prosecutors allege that Soto had cocaine in his system at the time of the accident. More information on the accident can be found on this previous post.

Lawsuit filed by family of woman killed by bus, www.chicagotribune.com, May 17, 2011

Family of woman killed by bus in Steeterville sues coach company, www.suntimes.com, May 17, 2011

Kimberly Bradley, 39, is facing felony and misdemeanor DUI charges after an accident that left two people in her vehicle dead and nine others also in the car injured. The 2003 Mazda SUV Bradley was driving northbound on South Kostner flipped when she attempted to pass the vehicle in front of hers and struck the car causing her to lose control of her vehicle and crash head-on into another vehicle in the oncoming lane of traffic.

Bradley's vehicle flipped over, throwing several of the passengers who were not wearing seat belts from the SUV and entrapping others. All 11 people in her vehicle were injured and sent to the hospital suffering brain and lung injuries, broken bones, fractures, back injuries and lacerations. Three remained intubated on a ventilator in critical condition. The driver of the other vehicle was not hospitalized. Two of the victims, Jarrell Billingsley, 19, and a unidentified woman in her 40's were pronounced dead at the hospital.

Cook County prosecutors say Bradley's blood alcohol content after conversion was just over twice the legal limit at .165 percent. She signed a handwritten statement admitting to drinking beer that night and being the driver of the SUV. Bradley is charged with two counts of aggravated DUI involving an accident resulting in death, seven counts of aggravated DUI involving an accident resulting in great bodily harm, and one count of DUI involving an accident resulting in great bodily harm to a passenger under 16. She is also being charged with misdemeanor counts of DUI, driving on a suspended license, DUI blood alcohol content over 0.08 percent. Bradley received citations for driving to the left of center and operating a motor vehicle without insurance.

Drunk driver caused crash that killed 2, injured 11 on west side, www.myfoxchicago.com, May 2, 2011

Two women face DUI charges after driving to the Illinois State Police headquarters Thursday night to settle a dispute. A call was made to Illinois State District 11 regarding an argument between the two drivers. The caller allegedly drove to the ISP headquarters, and the other driver followed.

Officers waiting in the parking lot determined that both drivers were under the influence of alcohol. Carrie Banfield, 25, and Delsislava Jeliazkove, 23, of Edwardsville were arrested on DUI charges. Police allege that the women admitted that they had been drinking all night. Officers say that the women had gotten into an argument at a bar earlier.

The District 11 Commander stated, "We prefer that people stay off the roads all together after drinking too much. But if you decide you don't want to stay off the roads, our second choice would be for you to drive to our headquarters and turn yourself in."

2 Ill. women face DUI charges after rolling spat, www.chicagotribune.com, May 7, 2011

Two Arrested For DUI After Driving To Illinois State Police Headquarters, www.fox2now.com, May 6, 2011

David Soto, 47, of Chicago has been charged with aggravated DUI resulting in death as a result of a fatal accident, which took place Tuesday night. Justyna Palka, 26, was in a crosswalk on Columbus Drive at Illinois Street in the Streeterville neighborhood when a tour bus, driven by Soto, hit her. According to witnesses, the driver of the tour bus turned into the intersection while the pedestrians had the right-of-way to cross. No passengers were on the bus at the time of the accident. A witness claimed that Soto looked shocked and was crying when placed in the back of a police car.

According to police, Soto tested positive for cocaine, which resulted in DUI charges. Police also learned during their investigation that Soto was wanted in connection with an investigation of sex offenes involving children. Soto has a criminal record involving aggravated criminal sexual assault. According to the Secretary of State, his commercial driver's license was suspended in August of 2008 for speeding and driving without insurance. However, his driver's license was valid at the time of the accident.

Justyna Palka was an ad agency art director. Less than fifteen minutes after the accident, she was declared dead at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. Soto's first court appearance is scheduled for today.

Tour bus driver charged with DUI in fatal Streeterville accident, www.chicagotribune.com, May 5, 2011

DUI, sex charges filed after fatal bus wreck in Streeterville, www.suntimes.com, May 5, 2011

The son of the famous Chicago Bears football coach Mike Ditka was arrested near his apartment complex in Deerfield for driving under the influence of alcohol.

The coach's son, Michael P. Ditka, denies the charges and claims he was targeted because of his famous name. "I was not driving the car... the car was parked and the keys weren't even in the ignition," claims Ditka.

According to police reports, officers saw a black Hummer with its headlights on running in the parking lot of a Deerfield Apartment complex. They then observed the vehicle drive into a rear parking lot of West Deerfield Township.

When the officers approached the vehicle, they found Ditka sitting in the driver's seat and another person in the passenger seat. Ditka allegedly smelled of alcohol, his eyes were bloodshot and his speech was slurred. The officer claimed Ditka struggled to perform a field sobriety test and preliminary breath test indicated his BAC was 0.189 percent.

Ditka claims he walked from a nearby bar and sat in his vehicle to have a cigarette and make a phone call. He denies drinking at the bar, but acknowledges that he had a couple drinks earlier in the day.

Son of former Bears coach Mike Ditka charged with DUI, www.suntimes.com, April 28, 2011

Mike Ditka's son claims his name spurred DUI charge, www.triblocal.com, April 27, 2011

Terry Robinson, 48, was taking his 19-year-old daughter to work in Calumet City when he allegedly ignored the crossing signals and drove onto the railroad tracks at 97th Street and South Eggleston Avenue. His Pontiac Grand Prix was struck on the passenger side by an Amtrak train bound for New York. The train was going 40 mph and Robinson's daughter, Patricia, received the brunt of the impact. She was pronounced dead later that night at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn. Her father had allegedly been drinking with a BAC just below the .08 percent limit.

Terry Robinson was recently paroled four months prior to the accident for attempted burglary. He was also convicted for delivery of a controlled substance in 1994. Robinson has more than 50 traffic citations on his driving record, including numerous arrests for driving on a revoked or suspended license. Robinson is now being charged with reckless homicide for the death of his daughter.

Dad charged after daughter killed in car-train crash, www.chicagobreakingnews.com, April 12, 2011