Richard Ramkhalawan / Photo from Cook County Sheriff's office
BY MICHAEL LANSU
Homicide Watch Chicago Editor
A Chicago man was ordered held on $300,000 bond Wednesday after prosecutors claim he was drunk when he caused a Sunday night crash on the Dan Ryan Expressway that left a woman dead.
Richard Ramkhalawan was speeding north and "erratically changing lanes" on the Dan Ryan Expressway (I-94) when he struck a Jeep near 87th Street about 7 p.m. Sept. 7, according to Illinois State Police and Assistant State's Attorney Bethy Novy.
The Jeep left the road and rolled over, authorities said. The driver of the Jeep, 44-year-old Anne Marie Schafer of the 2000 block of West Berwyn Avenue, died from blunt force trauma injuries later that night at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, authorities said.
Ramkhalawan stayed on scene and investigators reported he had "bloodshot glassy eyes, slurred speech and an odor of an alcoholic beverage emitting from his breath," Novy said.
He admitted to consuming some beers at a family gathering before the crash, and police found several open containers of alcohol in the BMW X5 SUV, authorities said.
Ramkhalawan was taken to St. Bernard Hospital where a blood draw determined he had a blood-alcohol level of .305, Novy said. The legal blood-alcohol limit in Illinois is .08.
Authorities also determined he did not have a valid driver's license at the time of the crash, Novy said.
Ramkhalawan, 35, of Chicago, was charged with reckless homicide and aggravated DUI resulting in death, according to state police.
Ramkhalawan's lawyer argued the Trinidad native did not consent to the blood draw. He said Ramkalawan moved to the United States when he was 21 and currently lives with his fiance and cares for her children.
Judge Donald Panarese ordered Ramkhalawan held on $300,000 bond during a Wednesday hearing and ordered him to appear in court again Sept. 29.