Thread: Did binge fuel hit and run? | Meaghan McMahon, Dan Parry

Binge fuel deadly hit-and-run?
Both drivers drunk as beer run turns deadly in Christmas Day crash: prosecutors

December 28, 2006

BY ERIC HERMAN AND LISA DONOVAN Staff Reporters

The two drivers in a deadly crash on the West Side on Christmas morning were both legally drunk, authorities said Wednesday as they continue investigating what unfolded.

Juan Diaz Perez, 21, had consumed 18 beers and was on his way to buy more early Monday when his pickup truck slammed into a 1997 Toyota Corolla, killing two people in the car, prosecutors said at Perez's first court appearance Wednesday. He had a blood alcohol level of 0.22, nearly three times the legal limit, and is charged with leaving the scene of a fatal accident and two counts of aggravated driving under the influence.

The driver of the Toyota -- Elizabeth Currie, 25, of the 1400 block of West Augusta -- was charged Monday with misdemeanor counts of driving under the influence and DUI over .08, the legal limit, said Chicago Police Sgt. Eugene Mullins. She and her sister, a passenger in her car, were injured, while two other passengers were killed.

"She is devastated about what happened," said Currie's attorney, Dan Kirk. He also said his client could not remember the crash "because of the trauma" caused by her physical injuries and because her boyfriend and friend were killed in the wreck.

More details about the crash emerged Wednesday at a hearing in Cook County Criminal Court. About 4 a.m. Monday, Perez was driving a Ford pickup truck west on Augusta "at a high rate of speed" when he ran through a yellow light at California and hit the Toyota, which was northbound on California, according to Assistant State's Attorney Maria Augustus.

'They were scared'

Daniel Parry, 33, of the 700 block of North Damen, was thrown from the Toyota, and another passenger in the car, Meaghan McMahon, 27, had to be extricated, according to her family and Augustus. Currie's friend McMahon and her boyfriend, Parry, died.

Perez and his passenger "immediately" got out of the truck and "ran from the scene," Augustus said. The passenger told police "they ran because they were scared, and . . . they stopped running because they did not want to draw attention to themselves."

The two men were found 25 minutes later "staggering westbound on Chicago Avenue," Augustus said. They had bruises and abrasions on their faces. Perez registered a blood alcohol level of 0.22 more than two hours after the crash, Augustus said.

Perez told police he had consumed eight or nine beers, but his passenger said Perez had 18, Augustus said.

Perez, jailed on $900,000 bond, never had a valid driver's license and has no car insurance, Augustus said. He faces up to 13 years in prison. His passenger will not be charged.

Assistant public defender Kathryn Lisco said the "indigent" Perez was born in Mexico and works in construction.

'She liked the big city'

The hearing came as McMahon's parents were preparing to fly from northern California, where they live, to the Chicago area to make preparations for their daughter's funeral.

Bob McMahon said he was relieved to learn of the charges against Perez, but sighed when told about Currie's DUI.

"I'm satisfied they caught the person who did it," her father said.

McMahon said his daughter moved to Chicago in 2004 and was still trying to figure out her future.

Meaghan McMahon was born in Downers Grove. Her family had moved around the suburbs and eventually to Utah before the family moved back to the Chicago suburbs, settling in Libertyville. With each move, Meaghan McMahon always seemed to find her place -- on the school soccer team, for example -- and friends.

"She had a lot of friends. She was just cool, she told you how it was, plain and simple," Bob McMahon said.

After high school, Meaghan McMahon traveled to Europe and Japan, ang other places. She eventually earned a degree in communications at Arizona State University.

"She liked the big city," her father said. "That's what convinced her to move back."

"Unfortunately, every Christmas, we're going to have to look at this," her father said of his wife and son. "I never thought of one of my kids dying before me."


http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/1892 ... 28.article

I posted this story yesterday but it wasn't clear in that one as to whether the driver was illegal or not. Of course in finding out that the other driver had drinks as well, makes me wonder how this will unfold.

Moving to Americans Killed by Illegals forum.

Christmas Day Death, 2006
Dan Parry, 33
Allegedly killed by
Jose Diaz-Perez

Jose Diaz-Perez, a Mexican national, has been arrested for DUI and leaving the scene of an accident. Killed in the accident were Dan Parry, 33, and Meaghan McMahon, 27. Diaz-Perez's bail was set at $900,000.

http://www.ojjpac.org/memorial2.asp