Woman Charged With DUI In Hit-And-Run That Killed Anne Johnson, Mother Of 8
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A 21-year-old woman has been charged with aggravated DUI and several misdemeanors, after she allegedly killed a mother of eight in a hit-and-run crash early Saturday morning in North Lawndale.
Anne Johnson, 51, was on her way home around 12:50 a.m. Saturday, when she was struck and killed by a black sedan while walking near 16th and Homan. Police said the driver fled the scene of the crash, but turned herself less than an hour later at the Ogden District police station a few blocks away.
Monday morning, police said 21-year-old Dereknesha Brown, of the 4000 block of West 21st Place, had been charged with one felony count of aggravated DUI and misdemeanor counts of driving under the influence of alcohol, leaving the scene of an accident, failure to yield to a pedestrian and driving without a license.
Police did not say what Brown's blood alcohol level was at the time of the crash.
Brown was due to appear in bond court Monday afternoon.
Johnson leaves behind six sons and two daughters, the youngest just 9 years old.
"She was a loving person," said Corderlo Robeson, the oldest of Johnson's children. "[She] wanted us to be the best we could be."
Neighbors said Johnson loved animals, including her own dog Sugar, who she would regularly take for walks.
"Everywhere you see Anne, you see Sugar," Rosalind Walker said.
Sugar and Johnson's children are now forced to continue on without her.
"I feel for the kids. What are they going to do now?" neighbor Timothy Dixon said.
If you ask Johnson's oldest son, they're going to keep pushing to be the best they can be because that's what she would have wanted.
"We've got to keep her memory going," Robeson said.
Besides her eight children, Johnson also leaves behind a husband and several grandchildren.
