"Alvarez-Navarrette also was cited for traffic violations, including failing to stop for a train, improper lane usage and driving without a license."

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/loca ... thwest-hed

Driver charged with homicide
2 sisters, infant died in van-train crash

By George Houde and Mark Shuman
Special to the Tribune
Published December 15, 2006

Reckless homicide charges were filed Thursday against the driver of a mini-van packed with people that was struck last week by a Metra commuter train in Elgin, Kane County prosecutors said.

Two women and a child died Dec. 8 when an outbound Milwaukee West line train hit the mini-van at Kimball Street, just west of downtown Elgin. The driver and four other children were injured.


An arrest warrant charges the driver, Epifania Alvarez-Navarrette, 25, of Carpentersville with three counts of reckless homicide, State's Atty. John Barsanti said.

Alvarez-Navarrette is in Provena St. Joseph Hospital, but Elgin police took steps late Wednesday to post police in her room, authorities said.

Barsanti declined to discuss details of the charges, pending a Friday news conference. But Kane County Circuit Court records indicate that Alvarez-Navarrette also was cited for traffic violations, including failing to stop for a train, improper lane usage and driving without a license.

Authorities have said the crossing gates were down at the time and warning signals were working properly. None of the nearly two dozen passengers on the train was injured.

Alvarez-Navarrette was reported in fair condition at the hospital with a broken femur and pelvis, authorities said.

The crash killed Alvarez-Navarrette's sisters--Antonia Alejos, 28, and Raquel Martinez, 35, both of Carpentersville--and Martinez's son, Fernando, 1. The women were returning from a dental appointment at the time, relatives said.

Family members were trying to raise funds to return the bodies to Mexico for burial. Amber Gilmore, spokeswoman for the Mexican Consulate in Chicago, said the family contacted the consulate for help. Gilmore said the consulate is aiding the family but could not say how far along the process is.

Authorities said two children who remained at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge Thursday were Alvarez-Navarrette's son Jorge, 3, and Alejos' son Juan Daniel, 2. Hospital officials have declined to release information about their conditions, citing privacy laws.

Barsanti said it was unclear when Alvarez-Navarrette would be released from the hospital. Hospitals are not required to disclose that information, he said.

Barsanti said authorities charged the woman because they feared she could try to flee.

Fleeing "is always a concern, and we take steps whenever we can to avoid that possibility," he said. "If we're an hour late and she's driving away, then what do we do?"

Tribune staff reporter Kayce Ataiyero and freelance reporter Kate Hawley contributed to this report.