Man accused of driving 104 mph before crash that killed woman on sidewalk

A man charged with reckless homicide is accused of speeding 104 mph moments before a crash in April that killed a woman standing on the sidewalk in the Calumet Heights neighborhood.

The April 10 crash killed 67-year-old Janice Gilmore and hurt three others, including a 5-year-old girl, according to Chicago Police the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office.

Anthony Carroll, 30, was ordered held at Cook County Jail in lieu of posting $50,000 bond when he appeared before Judge Michael Clancy at a hearing Wednesday at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse.

About 6:20 p.m. the night of the crash, Carroll was driving a 2017 BMW X5 west on the Dan Ryan and then exited the expressway at Stoney Island Avenue, Assistant State’s Attorney Ben Williams said at the hearing.

Carroll ran a red light at 95th Street at 104 mph and struck a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu at 98 mph, Williams said. After striking the Malibu, Carroll lost control of the BMW and crashed into a light pole, which sent his car careening onto the sidewalk, where it struck Gilmore. The car stopped when it crashed into a bus shelter and caught fire.

Gilmore, of the Pill Hill neighborhood, was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where she was pronounced dead of her injuries, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office. Her death was ruled an accident.

Three people waiting at the bus shelter — a 5-year-old girl and two women, ages 20 and 21 — were taken to Trinity Hospital and treated for minor injuries, Williams said. The driver of the Malibu, a 24-year-old woman, was taken to Christ Medical Center but declined treatment.

Carroll was helped out of the BMW through the sunroof by a witness who later identified him as the driver to police, Williams said. Carroll was hospitalized with minor injuries and ticketed for failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident and driving without insurance.

Williams said Carroll voluntarily provide blood and urine samples at the hospital, but the results were still pending as of Wednesday.

Both of the tickets were later dismissed, Williams said. A warrant was issued April 30 for Carroll’s arrest on the reckless homicide charge and he was taken into custody June 12 in California. He waived extradition back to Chicago and was taken into custody by Chicago Police officers June 25.

Carroll went to California for his niece’s graduation ceremony after the tickets were dismissed, his public defender told Judge Clancy. He was unaware a warrant had been issued. Although he has been living in Alabama, his attorney said he would be able to stay with his sister in Cook County if released on bond. She said he could post $5,000.

Clancy cited the seriousness of Carroll’s current charge, as well as previous convictions that included robbery and burglary, in his decision to set the half-million dollar bail.

Carroll’s next court date was scheduled for July 16.