Man charged with crash that killed 3-year-old boy, 2 men in Englewood

SHARE Man charged with crash that killed 3-year-old boy, 2 men in Englewood
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Chicago police investigate the scene of a fatal car accident Monday night in the 6900 block of South Loomis. | Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times

A Calumet City man was ordered held without bond on Monday for allegedly causing a crash that left a 3-year-old boy and two men dead in Englewood last month.

The three victims died after 27-year-old Christopher Carter shot at his girlfriend and sped through a red light while fleeing on Oct. 1, Cook County prosecutors said.

Shortly after 7 p.m. that night, Carter, while arguing with his girlfriend, pulled out a gun and fired it four times toward her in the 8700 block of South Loomis Street, according to Assistant State’s Attorney Stephanie Gersch.

The woman was not injured.

Christopher Carter | Chicago police

Christopher Carter | Chicago police

Carter, meanwhile, took off in his 2013 Ford Fusion, Gersch said.

The sedan was spotted by a Chicago police sergeant as Carter drove north on Ashland Avenue near 70th Street.

The sergeant turned on his police lights and tried to pull Carter over, but Carter sped off, Gersch said.

The sergeant turned off his lights after about five seconds so as not to endanger the public with a police chase, Gersch said.

Carter continued to speed away, nearly reaching 80 mph as he approached a solid red light at Loomis and 69th streets, Gersch said. Instead of stopping, Carter allegedly drove into the intersection and slammed into the driver’s side door of a 2009 Ford Fusion.

Cabari Turner, 3, of Gary, Indiana, was ejected from the vehicle Carter collided with, Gersch said. Cabari was rushed to Comer Children’s Hospital where he was pronounced dead later that night.

Two men in the 2009 Ford Fusion — 24-year-old Antonio Cowan and 25-year-old Chrishawn Turner — were also killed.

Cowan’s mother later filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city of Chicago that accused police of recklessly pursuing Carter’s vehicle.

A 2-year-old girl, who was also in the victims’ vehicle, was taken to Stroger Hospital that night for observation, police said.

The initial collision also caused additional crashes and minor injuries to others.

Carter ran from his sedan following the crash.  But a witness who was waiting for food in front of a nearby restaurant saw the deadly collision and later identified Carter as the man he saw running from the scene, Gersch said.

Another witness told investigators she found Carter wiping blood off his face inside the garage at her mother’s house. He asked for a ride, telling her there were people after him, and she dropped him off near 38th Street and Vincennes, authorities said.

The crash was recorded by police POD cameras and the sergeant’s dash camera, Gersch said. A .40-caliber handgun and shell casings were allegedly also found inside Carter’s vehicle.

The Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force apprehended Carter late last week in the 600 block of East 38th Street.

Carter is charged with three counts of first-degree murder, three counts of reckless homicide and aggravated discharge of a firearm.

In court on Monday, Carter’s court-appointed assistant public defender argued that Carter’s alleged actions showed “recklessness rather than intent” to commit murder.

Gersch told Judge Stephanie Miller the state filed murder charges because Carter would have known that speeding through the intersection was likely to cause death.

Miller called Carter a danger to the community.

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