Pubdate: May 26, 1999 Source: Chicago Tribune (IL) Copyright: 1999 Chicago Tribune Company Contact: http://www.chicagotribune.com/ Forum: http://www.chicagotribune.com/interact/boards/ Author: Art Barnum RECKLESS - HOMICIDE TRIAL MAY HINGE ON ROLE OF MARIJUANA DuPage County prosecutors said Tuesday that a Bloomingdale driver they alleged was high on marijuana is responsible for the deaths of two people in a February 1998 crash on Swift Road in Addison. Lynette McCreary, who was 18 at the time of the crash, has been charged with two counts of reckless homicide and two counts of reckless homicide due to reckless driving. McCreary, who has been in the county jail since the accident, was on her way to afternoon classes at DAVEA, an alternative high school in DuPage County, when the car she was driving struck a car head on at Swift Road near Collins Road. Killed were Lorraine Arrigoni, 75, who was driving the other car, and Gina Mazzocchi, 20, of Gilberts, a passenger in McCreary's car. McCreary's bench trial before DuPage Judge Nicholas Galasso began Tuesday with Assistant State's Atty. Patrick Provenzale, contending that, "This is a case about a woman whose only concern was getting high, whose only concern was having a good time." He said that the evidence against her includes medical tests that showed she had taken marijuana before the accident. He also said several eyewitnesses will testify that McCreary tried to pass another car on the inside lane and lost control of her car, fishtailing across four lanes of traffic until she crashed in to Arrigoni's car. Liam Dixon, McCreary's attorney, said in his opening statement that blood tests taken from his client after the accident showed no indication of marijuana, although he acknowledged that urine analysis showed minute traces of the drug. "This is about an accident, a tragic accident, but an accident," Dixon said. "There is no way that anyone can prove she was under the influence of the drug. "She wasn't used to driving a high-performance machine, and she couldn't drive it safely. She was driving a stick-shift car that went out of control." Reckless-homicide cases usually involve people who have been drinking and who are considered intoxicated when their blood-alcohol level reaches 0.08 in Illinois. There is no legal numerical standard for marijuana use. A defendant found guilty of reckless homicide while under the influence faces a maximum 14-year sentence, compared with a 7-year maximum sentence for reckless homicide due to reckless driving. Swift Road long has been a concern of area residents and motorists who repeatedly have warned local and state authorities that increased traffic likely would bring about more accidents Arrigoni was among those who had spoken at public meetings about the perils along the roadway. The trial is expected to conclude next week. - --- MAP posted-by: Derek Rea