Records: Errol Brice, Man Charged With Plowing Into Bus Shelter And Killing 2, Was On Road Despite History Of DUI
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Errol Brice is charged with leaving the scene of a deadly crash at a bus stop this past weekend, and he admitted to police that he had had been drinking.
CBS 2's Megan Hickey is always investigating, and on Wednesday, she dug into Brice's record. It turns out he has a history of drinking and driving and should not have been on the road at all.
As of just two weeks ago, Brice was teaching eighth graders at University of Chicago Charter School's Carter G. Woodson campus.
But now, Brice, 42, stands charged with one felony count of reckless homicide with a motor vehicle in the incident, which happened around 7:15 p.m. Saturday.
Police said the two women were at the bus shelter 61st Street and King Drive, in the Washington Park neighborhood, when a Ford Explorer came plowing into it.
One woman – identified as Beverly Barney, 59, of Cottage Grove Heights – was later pronounced dead, police said.
The other woman, initially reported to be 60, was taken in good condition to St. Bernard Hospital following the crash, according to the Chicago Fire Department.
Brice had been convicted of driving under the influence previously, and has been issued nearly a dozen citations since then. CBS 2 wanted to know why he was still behind the wheel.
Court records show that once police caught up with Brice following the Saturday crash, he admitted to drinking tequila.
"The offender was not aware of what had happened. The offender was not able to stand on his own," the arrest report says.
Officers noted that he fell asleep while he was being held for observation.
What's shocking about this story is Brice had been caught drinking and driving in 2002. And CBS 2 discovered that since that conviction he's received at least 11 tickets ranging from driving the wrong way on one-way street, to operating an uninsured vehicle and driving on a suspended or revoked license.
So once again, why was he on the road?
The Illinois Secretary of State's office tells Hickey that the first DUI was reduced to supervision, which means it didn't count against his driving record.
His license was also valid at the time of the crash.
No one answered at Brice's home this afternoon. Hickey also got a hold of a man named "Errol Brice" on the phone, who claimed he did not know anything about the crash.
When Hickey noted that Errol Brice is not a very common name, the man told Hickey that the Errol Brice involved in the crash was his son and he ahd no comment.
A representative said Brice is no longer employed by University of Chicago Charter School because the campus closed at the end of this school year.
His bail was set at $50,000.