Man Indicted in DUI Crash that Killed 6-Year-Old Girl

Chicago - A man accused of driving drunk with cocaine and pot in his system when he fatally struck a 6-year-old girl last month was indicted on multiple counts Thursday.

Eddie Lumpkin, 48, was formally charged with one count of reckless homicide, two counts of aggravated DUI causing death and six counts of aggravated DUI causing bodily harm, according to Cook County State's Attorney's office spokeswoman Tandra Simonton.

He was originally held on $500,000 bond on Feb. 18 and arraignment was set for April 6, Simonton said.

Lumpkin, an auto mechanic, is charged in the Feb. 16 crash that killed first-grader Jada Washington. Prosecutors allege Lumpkin was speeding southbound in a Dodge Caravan on Ashland Avenue when he crashed into Washington and her 21-year-old aunt just north of 74th Street at about 6:30 p.m. Jada and her aunt, Tiuette Richardson, were walking to a corner store to buy candy and were standing on the median when the crash occurred.

Prosecutors said Jada's body hit the windshield and she was then thrown onto the street. Richardson, who is recovering from her injuries, was thrown across the northbound lanes and landed near the curb, prosecutors said.

Jada was pronounced dead at University of Chicago's Comer Children’s Hospital.

During Lumpkin's bond hearing last month, Cook County prosecutor Angel Essig said Lumpkin failed a field sobriety test, and “subsequent chemical testing” showed he had cocaine in his system. Lumpkin admitted to smoking pot "prior to the incident," Essig said.

Two 40-ounce bottles of beer were found in Lumpkin’s vehicle, one of which was open, Essig said. Prosecutors say Lumpkin admitted to buying one of the bottles of beer that evening on his way home from work.

But Lumpkin's attorney, Steve Greenberg, strongly defended his client’s character and actions the night of the crash. Greenberg said the evidence will show his client was sober the night of the crash and had not been using cocaine. Greenberg said his client is taking Tylenol for a work-place back injury.

Between 1987 and January of this year, Lumpkin has been stopped more than two dozen times and has received about 40 tickets for such offenses as disregarding a stop sign and operating a motor vehicle without insurance, according to court records.