CHICAGO — A Lakeview man who struck three pedestrians with his car while on probation for killing a 93-year-old woman with the same vehicle has now been sentenced to prison for both crimes.
Rayon Allen, 33, received five years for aggravated DUI and eight years for reckless homicide, the case for which he originally received probation. Judge James Obbish handled both cases and ordered the sentences to be served concurrently.
Edgewater crash
Around 11:20 a.m. on September 24, 2018, two drivers yielded to allow 93-year-old Lorraine Campione to cross a driveway in the 5500 block of North Sheridan. But Allen made an improper left turn in his SUV, overtook a vehicle on the left, and struck Campione, police said. The collision was recorded by surveillance cameras at the Edgewater Beach Apartments.
According to witnesses, Allen got out of his SUV and tried to remove Campione’s body from his BMW’s wheel well by pulling on her leg. When that failed, he allegedly tried to take other motorists’ cars. That also failed.
Campione was pronounced dead at St. Francis Hospital about nine hours after the accident.
Allen pleaded guilty to reckless homicide with a motor vehicle in March 2021 and received a 30-month probation sentence from Obbish, according to court records.
Same car, new crash
Only a few months into his probation sentence, Allen allegedly struck three more people with the same BMW X5, according to Chicago police crash reports reviewed by CWBChicago.
Around 12:49 a.m. on August 29, 2021, a man and woman, both 39, were crossing the street at Irving Park and Broadway when Allen struck them with his BMW, one crash report said. Allen then crashed into a gas station fence while making a U-turn, returned to the scene of the first collision, and struck a 55-year-old bicyclist trying to help the first two victims, according to the reports and a CPD media statement.
Police said the 39-year-old woman and the 55-year-old man were taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center in critical condition with head trauma. The 39-year-old man was taken to St. Francis Hospital with leg pain while the driver was treated for bruises to his face at Masonic, police said.
To resolve the case, Allen pleaded guilty to repeated aggravated DUI with a suspended or revoked license. Prosecutors dropped five other felonies in a plea deal with Allen.
After receiving a 50% sentence reduction for good behavior and 612 days of credit earned before pleading, he is scheduled to be paroled on November 15, 2024.
