Driver faces DUI charges in fatal Bloomington crash

Interstate 55
Andre Webster, 37, of West Peoria, was killed in a crash on I-55 in Bloomington on Friday. (Photo by Maria Henneberry/WJBC)

By Eric Stock

BLOOMINGTON – The driver in a fatal crash on Interstate 55 in Bloomington Friday has been charged with drunk driving.

Juanita Webster, who turned 37 on Friday, was the driver of the vehicle that ran off the road and rolled over, landing on its side on I-55 just north of the Market Street exit at about 6:15 a.m. A passenger, 37-year-old Andre Webster of West Peoria was pronounced dead at the scene. McLean County Coroner Kathy Davis said he died of neck and head injuries.

According to McLean County court records, witnesses told officers that Juanita Webster was driving erratically and ‘making abrupt jerking movements’ and not braking before going off the roadway. Her blood-alcohol level was determined to be .164, more than twice the legal limit.

Webster was taken to the McLean County where she was booked on aggravated DUI charges. She is being held on $500,000.

Eric Stock can be reached at [email protected]

Blogs

Labor Day – Expanding voting rights for all

By Mike Matejka Because of COVID, there is no Labor Day Parade this year.  It’s always a great event for our everyday workers to march proudly down the street and enjoys the festive crowd. If there had been a parade, this year’s Labor Day theme was to be “150 years of struggle: your right to vote.” …

Is federal mobilization the answer?

By Mike Matejka As President Donald Trump threatens to send federal marshals into Chicago, over the objections of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, recall another Illinois Governor who protested the incursion of armed federal personnel into the city.   Those federal troops, rather than calming, escalated the situation, leading to deaths and violence. Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay…

In these troubled times, to my fellow white Americans

By Mike Matejka Our nation is at a unique watershed in human relations. African-Americans have been killed too many times in the past before George Floyd, but the response to this man’s death is international and all-encompassing. I was a grade-schooler during the Civil Rights 1960s. I watched Birmingham demonstrators hosed and the Selma – Montgomery…

Workers’ Memorial Day – Remember those whose job took their life

Looking around our community, when we say employer, most will respond to State Farm, Country, or Illinois State University.   We too often forget those who are building our roads, serving our food, or our public employees. COVID-19 has made us more aware of the risk.  Going to work every day for some people means…