Police: Driver Was Impaired By Drugs When He Struck, Killed Elderly Woman
(STMW) -- A Wheaton man was charged with driving under the influence of drugs after he struck and killed an elderly woman Thursday morning in the Clearing neighborhood on the Southwest Side.
James Rudzinski, 61, is charged with felony aggravated DUI causing a fatal accident in connection with the crash in the 6300 block of North Narragansett Avenue, police News Affairs said in a release.
Bronislawa Zajac, 82, was walking across the street just before noon when the truck Rudzinski was driving struck her as it was turning left at the intersection, according to police and the Cook County Medical Examiner's office.
Zajac, of the 6600 block of West 64th Place, was pronounced dead at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn at 12:40 p.m., the medical examiner's office said.
Rudzinski was also charged with two misdemeanor counts of driving under the influence of drugs and for disregarding a pedestrian in a crosswalk with the right of way, police said.
Rudzinski, of the 1000 block of South College Avenue in Wheaton, will appear for a bond hearing Saturday, police said.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2013. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
