Charlie Gates, a 70-year-old man who was charged with a DUI after driving the wrong way in December and causing a fatal crash killing one person, has reportedly died on Saturday.
Report
According to Chicago Police, Charlie Gates was driving under the influence on December 3rd, at around 9:40pm, when he went the wrong way on the Skyway near 92nd Street. He then hit a Dodge Grand Caravan head-on, killing 55-year-old Mark A. Jacobs.
According to the police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office, Jacobs was rushed to Trinity Hospital and was pronounced dead hours later. An autopsy found that he had died from several injuries he had suffered from the crash. The crash was ruled as an accident.
Jacobs’ sister, Dawn Philips, said she was looking at news of a “Skyway fatal accident” on Sunday night. “First thing I saw was ‘Skyway shut down after fatal accident.’ My stomach just dropped and I clicked. It said a 50-year-old man had been killed in a Dodge Caravan and I knew it was him,” she said.
Remarks
He was reportedly on the way to Amtrak, where he worked as a lead electrician. “I can’t comprehend how it happened. I don’t know how he could have gotten on the road going the wrong direction. I don’t know how he couldn’t have realized,” she said.
“It makes me very angry that he took my brother from all of us. My mom’s having a really hard time with it. She keeps saying, ‘You’re not supposed to outlive your children.’”
Charlie Gates was also severely injured from the incident and was rushed to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn after the accident and was charged with a DUI.
He was recorded to be driving the wrong way on a divided highway, according to authorities. Gates reportedly passed away on Saturday at around 12:11pm.
An autopsy is expected on Sunday.
