Woman Charged with Misdemeanors and Felonies after Accident

 Posted on April 22, 2014 in Personal Injury

Simply being responsible for a car accident in which another person is injured is likely cause for legal action. However, when the driver continues to participate in reckless and intentional conduct following such an incident, the situation often rises to the level of being criminal. In the recent case of one woman from Wilmette, Illinois, multiple accidents resulted in criminal charges being filed against her.

Driving Rampage

A 63-year-old woman is now facing a number of misdemeanor and felony charges after recent incidents that occurred during an "erratic driving rampage" over the weekend. After all was said and done, she ended up injuring a cyclist, striking three cars, and also hitting a scooter, leaving that driver with minor injuries as well.

Her charges include misdemeanor reckless driving, felony aggravated fleeing and eluding police, and five counts of reckless driving and criminal damage to property, also graded as a misdemeanor. She has also been charged with two counts of felony leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident involving an injury. In addition to the criminal charges, she was issued a total of 13 traffic citations for numerous violations including leaving the scene of an accident and failing to provide information in a traffic crash.

Multiple Crashes

Initially, the driver struck another vehicle in an intersection, where which police were called to the scene and initially responded. Then, she hit a scooter, injuring its driver, who was taken to the hospital and treated for minor injuries. She then hit another vehicle before colliding with a cyclist, who sustained head injuries. The cyclist who was struck was transported to the hospital in critical condition, and remained in the intensive care unit in serious condition several days following the incident. At no point during the series of accidents did the driver responsible for the crashes attempt to stop her vehicle. Officers eventually surrounded the woman's vehicle and took her into custody.

Although the driver was tested for the presence of both illegal drugs and alcohol in her system, the results for both were negative. Further testing is expected to be performed on samples that were sent to the Illinois State Police Crime Lab. In addition, police are further investigating the series of crashes comprising this incident. Although the driver's vehicle did sustain significant damage, there was damage done to the driver's side door, which suggests a type of impact not accounted for based on the crashes reported.

Accident and Injury Attorney