By MITCH DUDEK
Chicago Sun-Times
Lyman Harvey | Chicago Police
A 35-year-old man was drunk and arguing with his girlfriend, Chalan V. Peterson, on Friday when he crashed into a median on the Dan Ryan Expressway near U.S. Cellular Field, killing her, Cook County prosecutors said.Peterson's 2-year-old son, who was in the back seat, was not seriously injured.
Lyman B. Harvey, 35, who had a blood alcoholic content of .135—well over the legal limit of .08—told police after the crash happened about 12:30 a.m. that he drank a few beers earlier that evening at a Thanksgiving party, prosecutors said in court Sunday.
According to court documents, Harvey told police that what began as an argument between the couple turned into a physical altercation when Peterson took off her seat belt and struck Harvey on the right side of his head.
Chalan Peterson | Facebook
She then grabbed the steering wheel, causing the vehicle to swerve right. Harvey told police he attempted to regain control but swerved too hard left and crashed, prosecutors said.
The car rammed into a median in the northbound express lanes of I-90/94 at 31st Street, according to Illinois State Police.
Harvey, of the 5400 hundred block of South Laflin Street, was charged with aggravated driving under the influence in a fatal accident, and reckless homicide with a motor vehicle.
Peterson, 29, of the 300 block of 23rd Avenue in Bellwood, was pronounced dead at Stroger Hospital at 5:55 a.m. Friday
An autopsy Saturday found she died of blunt force trauma to the abdomen as a result of the crash, and ruled her death an accident. Prosecutors said she also suffered a lacerated liver.
Police said Harvey and the child were also taken to Stroger Hospital with only minor injuries.
Cook County Judge Peggy Chiampas ordered Harvey held on a $200,000 bond.