Shikita Woods was angry at her husband for moving out of their house after just three days of marriage and possibly fathering another woman’s child.
So when he jumped into his cousin’s car to escape her drunken rants Sunday morning, Woods followed behind in her red Pontiac and intentionally slammed into them on the South Side, authorities said.
Woods’ husband and cousin survived the crash in the 5500 block of South State Street.
But Brent Nelson, 53, who was standing on a sidewalk delivering newspapers at a nearby store, was killed when he was struck by a food truck Woods also hit, Cook County prosecutors said.
Another store employee who was on the sidewalk suffered a leg injury because of Woods’ actions, Assistant State’s Attorney Enrique Abraham said.
Woods, who had been drinking vodka for several hours, initially chased her husband and her cousin with her drinking buddy at her side around 3 a.m., prosecutors said.
She then stopped at a gas station, where her husband and her cousin had stopped and continued to get into a physical altercation with her spouse, Abraham said.
When the husband and cousin got back in their car and drove away, Woods hopped back into her Pontiac alone and followed them at a high rate of speed as both cars headed east on Garfield Boulevard, Abraham said.
Woods, of Gary, Ind., eventually caught up to the other car and rammed into it four times, Abraham said.
The car Woods’ husband was traveling in was hit with such force it went onto the sidewalk and careened into a light pole and the parked food truck, Abraham said.
Nelson was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he died.
Woods, 33, was taken to the hospital for minor injuries.
Woods’ blood-alcohol content was 0.17 percent, more than twice the legal limit of 0.08, Abraham said.
Woods was charged with first-degree murder, aggravated DUI and reckless homicide.
She also faces misdemeanor charges of DUI and driving on a revoked license, in addition to numerous traffic citations.
Judge Donald Panarese Jr. on Tuesday ordered Woods held in lieu of $250,000 bail.
A pedestrian was fatally struck during a five-car crash early Sunday in Washington Park. | Network Video Productions
