Teen Pleads Not Guilty In Crash That Killed 5-Year-Old Girl
WAUKEGAN, Ill. (CBS) -- A Highland Park teen pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges she huffed a cleaning product before her car slammed into a family on Labor Day, killing a 5-year-old girl.
WBBM Newsradio's Nancy Harty reports 18-year-old Carly Rousso did not speak during her court appearance, letting her defense attorney enter her plea of not guilty to four counts of aggravated DUI and two counts of reckless homicide.
Lake County prosecutors said she huffed an aerosol can of keyboard cleaner on Labor Day, before plowing her car into the Sacramento family on a sidewalk in Highland Park.
Jaclyn Santos-Sacramento, 5, was killed in the crash. Her mother, Modesta Sacramento-Jimenez, and her two brothers were also hurt.
Assistant Lake County State's Atty. Ken LaRue said Rousso's trial is slated to start Feb. 1.
"I anticipate this will be a lot of court appearances before it's finally resolved; either a trial, or plea," LaRue said.
The Sacramento family was not in court for Rousso's appearance, but their attorney, Robert Baizer, was.
He said the crash was a horrible tragedy, and he expressed sympathy for Rousso's family.
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"My sympathy is brought to them, but it's hard to be too sympathetic to Miss Rousso at this point," he said.
Rousso's attorney asked the judge to waive her need to appear at the next hearing in her case on Oct. 25, but the judge denied the request.
The judge did say that prosecutors need to provide the defense with their evidence about the aerosol cans allegedly found in Rousso's car within the next seven days.
