More than three years after 26-year-old Sandra Vasquez allegedly drove several teenagers home from a party while drunk, resulting in the Oswego crash that killed five, she will be cross-examined in the courtroom, according to the Chicago Daily Herald.
The woman has a tough act to follow, though. Members of the Kendall County jury heard testimony from still-mourning parents and from the surviving teenage passengers.
Sandra Vasquez's Illinois DUI attorney claims her blood-alcohol content reading, recorded at 0.124 percent, was skewed by vomiting before the test. Instead of intoxication, her attorney insists the crash was caused by one of the teenagers grabbing the steering wheel or kicking the back of her seat.
Kendall County State's Attorney Eric Weis countered that evidence from blood analysis, crash reconstruction, testimony from eyewitnesses and Sandra Vasquez's own statements prove that she was intoxicated at the time.
Whatever the trial uncovers, the loss of five teenagers was an undeniable tragedy. Mike Nutoni, whose daughter Jessica Nutoni died in the crash, said he couldn't recognize her face from the Oswego crime scene photograph and therefore wasn't able to confirm her identity:
"I said, 'It's not my daughter. Take DNA from me.' I'm not used to seeing my child like that."
Sandra Vasquez's Boulder Hill cousin hosted the underage drinking party after the cousin's parents left for the evening. Christina Melero, the defendant's aunt and the owner of the home, said she and her boyfriend returned after 1 a.m. and kicked everyone out after discovering the party. But she testified that her niece was not intoxicated:
"If she was drinking, if she smelled like alcohol, I would not have let her drive."
Accidents sometimes happen in the absence of alcohol, so let's not rush to judgment. Still, her Illinois DUI lawyer certainly has his work cut out for him.
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