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| Kristen Levasseur | Chicago Police Department |
It’s a tragic new chapter of an already-terrible story. A man who recently left prison after serving nearly nine years for a fatal DUI crash has been gravely wounded by an allegedly intoxicated driver in River North.
Kristen Levasseur, 24, turned herself in to Chicago police on Tuesday after investigators identified her as the person responsible for striking the man as he bicycled in the 400 block of West Grand on June 25th.
Prosecutors charged Levasseur with felony aggravated DUI-causing an accident with bodily harm and felony leaving the scene of an accident involving injury or death. Judge Susana Ortiz set bail at $100,000 bail.
Police said Levasseur, a bartender, failed to stop or call 911 after she struck 32-year-old Michael Albers as he and another cyclist rode westbound on Grand Avenue around 1:15 a.m. She had her car’s damaged windshield and passenger-side mirror replaced later the same day to conceal the accident, police alleged in an arrest report.
Albers received severe head injuries and will suffer long-term brain damage from the crash according to police. The woman who was cycling with Albers at the time of the accident was not injured.
Albers was paroled almost exactly four months before the crash after serving much of a ten-year sentence that he received for a fatal DUI in suburban Antioch Township.
Danielle Trevithick was 22-years-old when Albers slammed head-on into her vehicle, killing her instantly at 1:30 a.m. on Aug. 12th, 2010, according to an archived Chicago Tribune story. A detective testified that Albers was driving 86 miles per hour in a 40-mph zone with a blood-alcohol level more than twice the legal limit, the Tribune reported.
Albers, who was ejected from his SUV, and his two passengers were airlifted to hospitals.
”I now realize how fast dumb decisions can affect me as well as others,” Albers said in an apology to Trevithick’s family at the time of his sentencing.
