Driver was drunk when striking and killing 62-year-old woman in Logan Square: prosecutor

A motorist was drunk when she struck and killed a 62-year-old woman walking through moving traffic in Logan Square, Cook County prosecutors said Thursday.

Patsy Ely was struck by Jennifer Martinez’s Dodge Caravan Monday as she walked across Fullerton Avenue, roughly 100 feet west of the intersection at Pulaski Road, prosecutors said.

Martinez, who was driving over the painted median on Fullerton Avenue at 30 mph, headed toward the left turn lane when she hit Ely, Assistant State’s Attorney James Murphy said. Martinez didn’t use her turn signal, Murphy said.

The crash sent Ely over the minivan’s windshield, Murphy said. Paramedics took Ely to Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where she later died of cardiac arrest, he said.

Martinez, 41, stopped near the intersection and failed a police sobriety test, blowing a 0.18 in a Breathalyzer — more than double the 0.08 legal limit, Murphy said. During a 911 call, Martinez allegedly admitted to hitting someone.

Martinez has four children and four grandchildren, and suffers from medical conditions including anemia, her attorney said,

Judge John F. Lyke Jr. ordered Martinez held on $25,000 bail, with pretrial monitoring as a condition of bond.

She was expected back in court Jan. 28.

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