Trucker in CTA crash had someone else's Rx
L STATION CRASH | Behaved oddly while in the police lockup, going naked and urinating on the floor
The driver of a semi-tractor trailer that slammed into the Cermak/Chinatown CTA station Friday had another person's prescription drugs with him at the time of the crash and behaved oddly while in police custody, sources said.
Initial toxicology tests showed no signs of illegal drugs in the system of the driver, Don Wells, but officials are awaiting expanded results for additional substances.
(Scott Stewart/Chris Sweda/Sun-Times)
PHOTO GALLERY
CTA station crash
"We are investigating everything," said Chicago Police Sgt. Maurice McCaster of the major accidents unit.
After police took his clothes as evidence, Wells declined the paper garments he was offered and stayed in the police lockup naked, McCaster said.
Wells, 64, was in custody for two days. During that time, he urinated on the floor of his cell instead of using the urinal, sources said.
Wells' behavior is one of many mysteries surrounding the Friday rush-hour crash, which killed Eloisa Guerrero, 47, and Delisia Brown, 18. Wells, of Metamora, Mich., was ticketed for negligent driving and released from police custody Sunday night.
The truck left no skid marks, sources said. That fact has led investigators to wonder if the brakes malfunctioned -- or if Wells simply did not apply them. Investigators are examining the truck for mechanical problems.
Wells refused to give a statement to police. After leaving the Wentworth District police station Sunday night, he was taken to St. Bernard's Hospital, where he spent all day Monday in the emergency room, said hospital officials.
McCaster said police plan to interview other truckers about legal and over-the-counter drugs truckers take to stay awake. He declined to comment on the prescription drugs, which sources would not identify.
Also Monday, a law firm representing one of the 21 people injured in the crash asked that all evidence in the case be protected. Corboy & Demetrio filed an emergency petition in Cook County Circuit Court requiring investigators and Whiteline Express, the trucking company, to preserve videos, photos, test results and other records.
The firm represents Nicole Latimore, 18, who suffered multiple bone fractures and "massive facial injuries," according to attorney Michael Demetrio. "She's totally immobile at this point," Demetrio said.
Latimore was on the station's escalator when the crash happened.
According to U.S. Department of Transportation records, over the past 30 months Whiteline had 41 accidents with 15 injuries and one fatality before Friday.
Whiteline's safety officer said she had found 923 falsified drivers' logs from 2004 to 2006, according to lawsuit records reported by WMAQ-Ch. 5. Some 691 driver logs were missing, the officer said.
