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Police: Driver Was Drunk When She Knocked Pedestrian Off Overpass

DOLTON, Ill. (CBS) -- A south suburban woman is facing drunken driving charges, after police say she slammed into a pedestrian so hard that the victim as knocked off an overpass.

Around 5:55 a.m. this past Sunday someone called Dixmoor police to report that the driver of a minivan had struck a pedestrian in the 300 block of East Sibley Boulevard and knocked her off an overpass, Dolton spokeswoman Taquoya Kennedy said.

The Dixmoor Police Department called Dolton police, who arrived in five minutes and found the woman dead on the scene, Kennedy said. Initially listed as a Jane Doe, the woman was identified by police as 39-year-old Dolton resident Kosetta Ratliff.

The motorist -- Tnia Griffin, 32 -- did not stop, Kennedy said. Police located her about 30 minutes later near Interstate 80/294 and Torrence Avenue near Lansing. She was charged with one count of aggravated DUI causing death and is being held on $500,000 bond.

A Monday autopsy confirmed Ratliff died of multiple injuries from a minivan striking a pedestrian and the death was ruled an accident, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's office.

The Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.

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