Nov 4, 2009 4:35 pm US/Central
Prosecutors: Driver In Deadly Crash Was On Cocaine
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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James Cox, 39, is charged with aggravated DUI contributing to death in the Oct. 21, 2009, crash that killed Ivie Brown and her baby, which was delivered by emergency Cesarean section after the crash.
CBS
The Chicago man charged with causing a crash that killed a pregnant woman and her baby had cocaine in his system, prosecutors said Wednesday.
James Cox, 39, is charged with aggravated DUI, causing a death. Records show he's been convicted 15 times for driving without a license or on a suspended or revoked license. His license also has been suspended twice for insurance violations.
Judge Maria Kyriakos-Ciesel set bond at $500,000 during a Wednesday
hearing, according to Cook County State's Attorney's office spokeswoman
Tandra Simonton. He will appear for a preliminary hearing on Nov. 12.
Cox was driving a Chrysler Town and Country minivan south on Kostner Avenue on Oct. 21 when he allegedly disobeyed a red light at Washington Boulevard and struck an eastbound 2003 Ford E-250 van, according to police.
The E-250 struck Kim Brown, 27, and three other pedestrians: a 30-year-old woman and her two young children, ages 1 and 3. The minivan Cox was driving did not strike any pedestrians, according to police.
Doctors delivered Brown's baby by emergency Casarean section after the crash. Brown died later that day and her baby -- a boy who weighed 1 pound, 7 ounces -- died the day after the crash.
The other woman struck by the car suffered a compression fracture to the back and suffered multiple face lacerations. The children suffered abrasions, court records indicated.
After the crash, Cox was taken to Loretto Hospital where blood and urine tests were taken, determining Cox had cocaine in his system, prosecutors said in court Wednesday.
Cox spent one year in prison after being convicted in 2007 for a possession of a controlled substance and was convicted in 2002 for a misdemeanor assault charge in which he spent 25 days in jail, court records said.
He also spent two years in prison after being convicted in 2001 for another possession of a control substance charge. In 1998, he received 24 months probation which was termed "unsatisfactory."
He also received probation in 1991 for possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver.
Cox was originally cited in the crash for failing to obey a red light, driving on a revoked or suspended license, and not having insurance, police said.
Brown had five other children –- ages 12 to 3 years old -- who are being cared for by her grandmother, Ivie Brown.
"She was a very good mom" she said. "She would be take them out to the park, to the movies. Our family used to do a lot of that."
Ivie Brown said the five children are currently with family members and she got to see the baby boy in Stroger Hospital of Cook County before the child passed.
"It was sad," she said. She said family members did not name the boy.
The Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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