A man who killed two women and injured five others while allegedly driving 107 mph on the Dan Ryan Expressway with a gun on his lap was sentenced to 18 years in prison on Friday.
Marcus Holmes, 41, pleaded guilty to two counts of DUI causing a fatal accident and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon with prior convictions, according to court records.
The crash occurred in the inbound lanes of the Dan Ryan Expressway near 47th Street around 10:50 p.m. on January 22, 2023.
Prosecutors said a driver hit the center divider, and a second driver pulled over to assist because the wreckage was partially blocking an exit ramp. As a good Samaritan dragged a traffic cone toward the disabled car, Daphene Monroe, 43, who was driving with three passengers, slowed down.
Holmes slammed into the back of Monroe’s vehicle at 107 mph, killing her and one of her passengers, Patrice Dean, 44, prosecutors said. The other two passengers in Monroe’s car were injured. Data from the black box in Holmes’ car allegedly showed he did not brake before the collision.
Monroe’s vehicle flipped onto its side and struck the good Samaritan and the driver who had hit the median, causing severe injuries to both. Holmes suffered a broken hip and femur. A blood test at the hospital revealed his blood alcohol level was 0.215, well above the legal limit of 0.08, prosecutors said during his initial court appearance.
Chicago Fire Department paramedics who extracted Holmes from the wreckage found a loaded handgun on his lap.
On Friday, Judge Michael Clancy sentenced Holmes to 18 years for each DUI count and 14 years for the firearm charge, to be served concurrently. Holmes received 859 days of credit toward his sentence for time spent wearing an ankle monitor while the case was pending.
