A grand jury has indicted the 18 year old who drove into a Highland Park family on Central Avenue on Labor Day, killing a 5-year-old girl, on aggravated driving under the influence of an intoxicating compound and reckless homicide charges, according to the Lake County State's Attorney.
Jaclyn Santos-Sacramento: The Story So Far
Highland Park resident Carly Rousso was driving eastbound on Central Avenue on Labor Day afternoon . Jaclyn Santos-Sacramento, 5, was killed.
Toxicology reports indicate that the compound Difluoroethane was detected in Rousso's blood, according to the grand jury indictment. The compound was found in a commercial cleaning product uncovered in Rousso's car, according to Ken LaRue, the Lake County State's Attorney's Traffic Division chief.
Rousso was indicted on Wednesday on four counts of aggravated driving under the influence of an intoxicating compound — two for the death of Jaclyn and two for the injuries to Jaclyn's mother, Modesta. She was also charged with two counts of reckless homicide.
There are six factors that can be used to charge someone with an aggravated DUI, according to LaRue.
"We have to charge every possible charge at the beginning," LaRue said. "Everything that she should be charged with under the statute she's charged with."
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Rousso is currently free on a $500,000 bond. Her arraignment has been scheduled for Oct. 18.
If she's found guilty of aggravated DUI, the statute requires that she serve 85 percent of her sentence, which could be as many as 14 years in prison, according to LaRue.
"Unless you are able to show extraordinary circumstances," LaRue said about people found guilty of aggravated DUI, "you're doing prison time."
Jaclyn's family seeks damages
Meanwhile, Jaclyn's mother is seeking damages from the driver, according to Bob Baizer, who is representing Sacramento in the wrongful death lawsuit.
The lawsuit filed seeks damages in excess of $50,000, which Baizer explained is the jurisdictional limit allowed to be requested. When asked how much he hoped to get for the Sacramento family, he replied, "That'll be up to a jury."
"I can assure you it's substantially more than $50,000," he said.
A hearing will be held Dec. 6 to set a trial date, which Baizer believes will be sometime in September of 2013.
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