Chicago man charged in deadly Hammond crash
Joellic Herron, 30, is charged with Causing Death When Operating a Motor Vehicle with a blood alcohol content of .08% or More, Causing Catastrophic Injury When Operating a Motor Vehicle with a blood alcohol content of .08% or More and Causing Serious Bodily Injury when Operating a Motor Vehicle with a blood alcohol content of .08% or More.
He has not been apprehended. When arrested, he is ordered held without bail.
When Hammond police arrived just before 1 p.m. March 15 on the 3000 block of Michigan Street, they concluded Herron went into the east lanes and hit another car head-on.
Rosa M Lopez, 72, a passenger in the other vehicle, was later pronounced dead. She died from abdominal injuries from the crash.
Lopez's husband had four fractured ribs and a fractured leg. A female in Herron's vehicle was also injured.
Lopez's husband said they went to the Ameristar casino in East Chicago for a few hours that morning and were headed to Cline Avenue to go home to Illinois.
'It all happened too quickly,' he said. 'All I remember saying is Mamma Mia. I grabbed the steering wheel and then my mind went blank.'
His wife said she couldn't feel her legs. She was crying from the pain.
A native of Mexico, she lived in south Chicago, then the south suburbs and was a beloved mother and grandmother, according to her obituary. She was the 'cherished backbone' of the family — who made delicious Mexican food, loved the casinos and had an 'unparalleled talent for spreading happiness.'
A new court date is not yet set.
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