CHICAGO — The motorist responsible for a fatal wrong-way crash on Lake Shore Drive was driving on a revoked license with a blood alcohol level about three times the legal limit, prosecutors said in court filings.
Judge David Kelly rejected a prosecution request to keep Leotis Carter, 53, in jail pending trial, opting instead to send Carter home on an ankle monitor.
Just before midnight on October 6, 2023, Carter drove his Honda CR-V southbound in the northbound lanes of the drive, prosecutors said. Near 29th Street, he slammed head-on into a northbound Tesla Model 3, sending the Tesla’s rear passenger partly through the front windshield, according to a Chicago police report.
The passenger, Riley Hall, 29, was pronounced dead from his injuries less than an hour later.
A felony complaint said Carter’s blood serum level was .279, equal to a blood alcohol content level of roughly .24, or three times the legal limit. It also said he was driving on a revoked license.
CPD’s Major Accident Investigations Unit continued to probe the crash for nearly a year. Carter surrendered to police last week with the assistance of his attorney.
He is charged with aggravated DUI causing a fatal crash, reckless homicide by motor vehicle, and aggravated DUI with prior convictions.
