DRIVER CHARGED IN CRASH THAT KILLED ‘ FIANCÉ’
A Humboldt Park woman broke her leg, and her heart, in a rollover crash that claimed the life of the man she hoped to marry, her lawyer said at a court hearing Friday.
Samantha Salazar, 27, looked forlorn as she limped into a bond hearing on crutches in a blue jail jumpsuit.
Assistant Cook County State’s Attorney Joe Carlson said on the night of April 30, Salazar was driving more than 70 miles per hour on a rainslicked Indiana Street toward the “T” intersection on Roosevelt Road in the South Loop.
Salazar sped through the intersection, across Roosevelt and over a curb into Grant Park, where the car went airborne before colliding with a concrete embankment inside the park, Carlson said. The “black box” data recorder in the Lincoln indicated Salazar did not hit the brakes until a half- second before the impact, and pegged the sedan’s speed at 72.2 miles- per- hour, Carlson said.
Salazar’s passenger, James Pickett, 52, was killed in the crash. Salazar’s blood- alcohol allegedly tested at .12—. 04 higher than the legal limit in Illinois. Salazar’s license also was expired, Carlson said.
Salazar, who faces charges of aggravated driving under the influence and reckless homicide, was ordered held on $ 750,000 bail by Judge Peggy Chiampas.
Assistant Public Defender Marijane Placek asked Chiampas to reduce Salazar’s bond, describing Pickett as Salazar’s “fiancé.”
A source with knowledge of the investigation said that Pickett was married, and not to Salazar.