A year after Denzel Washington, 26, crashed his car and killed a longtime friend while driving under the influence of drugs in Englewood, Chicago, Illinois, the Cook County prosecutors charged him. On Wednesday, July 29th, Assistant State Attorney James Murphy charged the defendant with DUI and reckless homicide.
The prosecutor informed the court that the man was under the influence of ecstasy, marijuana, and alcohol when he fled the police and crashed his vehicle in July 2019. Washington drove at 88 miles per hour, and the incident claimed the life of Jason Yancey, 23.
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The victim and two others were traveling with the defendant, and the quartet — all longtime friends — were returning from a party. Murphy said that a Chicago Police officer spotted Washington without a seatbelt in his Pontiac and tried to pull him over. The man failed to stop, sped away, and officers gave chase with their lights and sirens activated.
The lawmen followed the defendant to 71st Street and Lowe Avenue but called off the chase when he drove into oncoming traffic. The police followed Washington at a distance with their light and siren deactivated. They said that the man applied the brakes to his car and struck a Mitsubishi occupied by two women.
The impact launched the Pontiac into the air, and it struck a tree before landing on its roof. The crash ejected Yancey, and he died at the scene. Washington and the other two passengers suffered broken bones while the women in the Mitsubishi were unharmed. The police used blood analysis to determine that the suspect drove the car, and a blood test showed he had a .19 BAC.
Judge Arthur Wesley Willis of the Circuit Court of Cook County placed the man on a $20 000 bail bond and ordered that he wear an electronic monitor if he makes bail. Murphy did not explain why it took a year for them to charge Washington. He would appear in court again on Tuesday, August 18th, and will need a car injury lawyer’s service.
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