From News-Gazette
2013-11-20 —
URBANA — The Champaign County state’s attorney’s office has filed criminal charges against an Urbana man who police say hit two female University of Illinois students last month with his pickup truck, killing one and injuring the other.
State’s Attorney Julia Rietz said the charges against Willie Craft in connection with the death of Mimi Liu and the injuries to Spandana Mantravadi allege that Craft had cannabis metabolites in his system and drove recklessly due to his low blood sugar.
Right after the crash, Craft, 58, was issued traffic tickets for improper lane usage and driving without insurance. He has been summoned to court Dec. 6 to face two felony counts of aggravated driving under the influence and one felony count of reckless homicide.
The accident happened at 9:53 a.m. on Oct. 9 on a six-block stretch of South Lincoln Avenue between Nevada Street and Pennsylvania Avenue.
Craft had first been spotted driving erratically on Lincoln Avenue at Fairview Avenue, about 14 city blocks north of Nevada Street.
Once he was in the heart of the UI campus, Urbana police said, Craft’s truck left the road several times, drove across a sidewalk and hit street signs.
After sideswiping a UI Facilities & Services truck, it continued on its spastic journey before jumping a curb and striking the women.
Ms. Liu, 20, a UI junior in agribusiness from Chicago, died shortly after the collision. Mantravadi, 20, a UI junior majoring in finance, sustained a broken ankle and required surgery.
Craft’s truck eventually came to rest against the retaining wall alongside Illini Grove, about 50 yards north of Pennsylvania Avenue ….MORE