A woman has been charged with driving over three times the legal drinking limit when she slammed her car into another vehicle, killing a 61-year-old father of two running errands for his family in Libertyville.
The crash happened around 11:35 p.m. on May 7, 2023, at Route 45 and Peterson Road in Libertyville.
Officers arrived on the scene and reported one of the victims, later identified as Ezequiel Martinez, 61, of Mundelein, was trapped in one of the cars and not breathing.
Libertyville Deputy Police Chief Chad Roszkowiak said Martinez’s vehicle sustained extensive damage in the rear-end style crash.
The Libertyville Fire Department, Mundelein Fire Department and Grayslake Fire Department were called to the scene.
Martinez was extricated by the fire department and transported to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville.
Martinez was pronounced dead in the emergency room after arriving at the hospital, Roszkowiak said.
The family of Martinez said Martinez was running errands for his family at the time of the crash. He leaves behind a wife and two daughters.
The Lake County Major Crash Assistance Team (MCAT) was called to the scene to investigate.
Jaclyn A. Brennan, 29, of Arlington Heights, was the driver of the vehicle that rear-ended Martinez’s car, according to Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Emma Smoler.
Brennan was also transported to the hospital. She suffered minor injuries.
Brennan was not released immediately due to her high level of intoxication, Smoler said.
The MCAT investigation showed both vehicles were traveling southbound on Route 45.
Martinez’s vehicle was at a full stop at the red light when Brennan’s vehicle slammed into the rear with such force that his car was left totaled and Martinez died from his severe injuries, Smoler said.
The entire crash was captured by a red light camera at the intersection.
A search warrant was obtained for Brennan’s blood and urine and for her vehicle.
Officers spoke with Brennan while she was in the hospital. They smelled a strong odor of alcohol coming from her and she had bloodshot eyes and slurred speech, Smoler said.
Brennan’s blood alcohol content was 0.273, which is over three times the legal limit, Smoler said.
Brennan told officers she was looking at her dog in the rear seat of her vehicle when she crashed into the other vehicle.
She said she was coming from a friend’s house and admitted to consuming beers there, Smoler said.
Smoler said Brennan refused to provide a blood or urine sample but agreed to perform field sobriety tests, in which she exhibited clues of impairment.
An officer observed a doctor at the hospital telling Brennan she would not be able to leave the hospital until later that day due to her level of intoxication.
The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office presented the case to a grand jury on July 31, more than 14 months after the fatal crash.
The grand jury returned an indictment charging Brennan with two counts of aggravated driving under the influence causing death and one count of reckless homicide.
An arrest warrant was issued for Brennan and she was taken into custody on the warrant last week.
The state’s attorney’s office filed a petition to detain Brennan pending trial, arguing she was a danger to the community and a willful flight risk.
An attorney for Brennan called prosecutors’ claims of her being a danger to the community and a willful flight risk “misguided.”
The attorney said the woman has not driven a vehicle or drank alcohol since the incident and has sought therapy. Brennan works as a special education teacher and takes a rideshare to work.
The woman, who has no criminal background, surrendered on the warrant after learning about the charges, the attorney said.
Lake County Judge Theodore Potkonjak denied prosecutors’ petition to detain Brennan after questioning why it took so long for the state’s attorney’s office to bring charges.
“During the course of that time, that year and three months, she’s been able to build a track record as far as going to therapy, maintaining a job, presumably not drinking. I mean, doing all these things,” Potkonjak said.
“Your office cannot get it together and file charges on this case. I guess I don’t understand. If you do the blood alcohol content that night, you got a dead person… [and] it takes a year and three months to bring charges. I don’t understand that,” the judge said.
Potkonjak released Brennan from custody and ordered her to be placed on Level 4 pre-trial monitoring services. He ordered her to be placed on an alcohol detection device and not consume any alcohol or illegal drugs.
Brennan was also ordered to be on electronic home confinement with the exception of receiving treatment, seeing her attorney, going to work and going to court.
An arraignment hearing is scheduled for Thursday.