Chicago Teen Charged with Reckless Homicide in DUI Crash that Claimed Two Lives
A 19-year-old Chicago resident, Erick Garcia-Ambriz, is facing severe charges after being accused of killing two people in a reckless driving incident on October 14th. According to authorities, the teen was behind the wheel of his vehicle when he failed to stop at a red light and crashed into another car, causing massive damage that left one person dead.
Garcia-Ambriz's blood-alcohol content was measured at 0.124%, exceeding the legal limit of 0.08%. The crash occurred in the early hours of the morning on South Michigan Avenue, where Garcia-Ambriz was driving a black Infiniti Q50. The other vehicle involved was a silver Chevrolet, which sustained significant damage and crashed onto the sidewalk.
Two people were inside the Chevrolet at the time of the accident: Kalieb Ghebreyesus, 45, from Des Plaines, who was pronounced dead at the University of Chicago Medical Center; and Shanika Smith, 45, from Chicago, who also died shortly after arrival. Garcia-Ambriz, whose age was not specified in initial reports but has since been confirmed to be 19, was taken into custody.
The authorities have charged him with two counts of reckless homicide, as well as two misdemeanor charges related to aggravated DUI. A pretrial detention hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, where he will face the possibility of severe penalties for his actions.
A 19-year-old Chicago resident, Erick Garcia-Ambriz, is facing severe charges after being accused of killing two people in a reckless driving incident on October 14th. According to authorities, the teen was behind the wheel of his vehicle when he failed to stop at a red light and crashed into another car, causing massive damage that left one person dead.
Garcia-Ambriz's blood-alcohol content was measured at 0.124%, exceeding the legal limit of 0.08%. The crash occurred in the early hours of the morning on South Michigan Avenue, where Garcia-Ambriz was driving a black Infiniti Q50. The other vehicle involved was a silver Chevrolet, which sustained significant damage and crashed onto the sidewalk.
Two people were inside the Chevrolet at the time of the accident: Kalieb Ghebreyesus, 45, from Des Plaines, who was pronounced dead at the University of Chicago Medical Center; and Shanika Smith, 45, from Chicago, who also died shortly after arrival. Garcia-Ambriz, whose age was not specified in initial reports but has since been confirmed to be 19, was taken into custody.
The authorities have charged him with two counts of reckless homicide, as well as two misdemeanor charges related to aggravated DUI. A pretrial detention hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, where he will face the possibility of severe penalties for his actions.
I'm only 29 and it's already like watching these tragic stories unfold before me. A 19-year-old making life-altering decisions behind the wheel? It's crazy to think about how much potential that kid has wasted on reckless behavior 
. I mean, I get it, we all make mistakes, but come on! The numbers don't lie – that blood-alcohol level is a ticking time bomb waiting to happen. 
. You can't even process how fast 19 goes by – from wide-eyed freshman to reckless driver? The thought alone makes me wanna scream 
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. Guess you can't turn back the clock and give those two lives back...
. Have you guys seen "The Last of Us"? It's soooo good! The way they recreate the post-apocalyptic world is insane 
. And Joel's character... man, he's just so brooding and complex 
. I swear, I'm still thinking about that one scene where he's running from those infected people... 
my heart was racing! Anyway, back to real life... how do you guys think the justice system handles these types of cases? Should they be tougher on reckless drivers or is it just not effective? 
. Garcia-Ambriz's blood-alcohol content was way over the limit, which tells me he wasn't even thinking straight 
. Two innocent people are gone, and their families will never get to see them walk into their 50s.
. I mean, we all know what can happen when you get behind the wheel after having a few too many drinks... it's just not worth the risk 
. One mistake and suddenly you're facing life in prison? I mean, we've all had a few too many beers and gotten behind the wheel at some point, right? It's not like he planned to hurt anyone. The fact that his BAC was just above the limit is still pretty low, considering it's a 19-year-old who's probably never even been in trouble before.
how could he be so careless? driving drunk is just insane and now 2 lives are gone 
it's just not cool to take your life and others' lives into your own hands... but on the other hand, 0.124% is still kinda low, I mean, some people can handle way more than that before things go wrong... what even is a safe limit here? 
Oh my gosh, this is just so heartbreaking! Two lives lost because of a driver's careless mistake 
.
and it's just not worth risking lives like that. I feel bad for Kalieb and Shanika's families who have to go through this - it's just so unfair 
. Maybe if we had more awareness campaigns, this wouldn't happen to innocent people 
.
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Erick needs to think about the consequences of his actions... two lives lost over a momentary lapse in judgment? It's just heartbreaking