Teen facing reckless homicide charges in 2024 Bronzeville DUI crash that killed 2
A Chicago teen is facing homicide charges after he was accused of killing two people in a Bronzeville crash while driving under the influence in 2024, according to Chicago police.
Erick Garcia-Ambriz, 19, faces two counts of reckless homicide and two misdemeanor charges of aggravated DUI, police said. He was arrested near his home Tuesday.
About 1:40 a.m. on Oct. 14, 2024, Garcia-Ambriz was driving a black Infiniti Q50 south in the 3500 block of South Michigan Avenue when he failed to stop at a red light and T-boned a silver Chevrolet in the intersection, causing it to flip over onto a sidewalk and land near the front doors of police headquarters, according to a Chicago police report.
The two people in the 2023 Chevrolet, which was going east on 35th Street and sustained massive side-impact damage, were rendered unconscious, police said.
The driver of the Chevrolet, Kalieb Ghebreyesus, 45, of Des Plaines, was taken to University of Chicago Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 1:46 a.m. His passenger, Shanika Smith, 45, of Chicago was taken to the same hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 1:51 a.m., according to the report.
Garcia-Ambriz was arrested after his blood-alcohol content was measured at 0.124%, above the legal .08% limit.
He is due in court Wednesday for a pretrial detention hearing.