A woman has been arrested and charged with driving intoxicated while looking at her phone when she crashed at approximately 80 mph into a semi-truck, killing her friend, on I-94 near Gurnee Saturday morning.
Priscilla M. Martinez, 29, of Gurnee, was charged with aggravated driving under the influence causing death, driving under the influence of alcohol, improper traffic lane usage, failure to reduce speed to avoid a crash and aggravated using a communication device resulting in death.
The Gurnee Fire Department, Libertyville Fire Department and Illinois State Police responded around 5:07 a.m. Saturday to Interstate 94 between Route 120 and O’Plaine Road near Gurnee for a report of a vehicle crash with injuries.
911 caller(s) reported a car was sideways in lanes 1 and 2 with a victim inside that had a possible broken neck, according to police radio traffic.
The car, a Mazda SUV, was heavily damaged and the second vehicle involved, a semi-tractor-trailer truck, was pulled off onto the right shoulder.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Dino Katris said Martinez was identified as the driver of the Mazda and called 911 to report she had hit a truck and her friend had a broken neck.
Gurnee Fire Department Battalion Chief Tim Steffens said the crash involved the two vehicles and the Mazda sustained heavy damage.
The crash occurred in the westbound lanes of Interstate 94 at the 11.75-mile marker.
Paramedics found Martinez and a second adult female in the Mazda and one adult male in the semi-truck. None of the victims required extrication.
One of the women in the Mazda, who was the passenger, suffered life-threatening injuries and was unconscious, Steffens said.
She was transported by ambulance to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville where she was pronounced dead, Steffens and Illinois State Police said.
The Lake County Coroner’s Office said she was a 35-year-old from Waukegan.
Martinez had no serious complaints regarding injuries but was transported to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville for evaluation.
The driver of the semi-truck was uninjured and signed a medical release at the scene declining transport to the hospital.
Illinois State Police said lanes 1, 2 and 3 remained shut down for the investigation for hours until being reopened around 10:45 a.m.
Troopers noted that the Mazda had extensive damage to the front end and the semi-truck had damage to the rear, Katris said.
Martinez told troopers she had three drinks at a bar in Chicago and they were traveling back to Lake County when she struck the rear of the semi-truck.
Martinez had referenced looking at her phone when the crash occurred and said she was traveling 70-80 mph when she hit the truck, Katris said.
Martinez had a breath alcohol concentration of 0.146 when providing a breath sample, Katris said.
The Lake County Coroner’s Office responded to the hospital to take possession of the deceased victim for an autopsy. Her identity has not been released.
Martinez was arrested and transported to the Lake County Jail and appeared in First Appearance Court on Sunday morning.
The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office filed a petition to detain Martinez pending trial and Lake County Judge Patricia Cornell ordered her held until a detention hearing, which she scheduled for Tuesday afternoon.