September trial set for Geneva woman charged in fatal crash
A Geneva woman is set to go on trial in September on charges she was under the influence of drugs when she caused a crash downstate last fall that killed her passenger, a St. Charles resident and recent Geneva High School graduate.
Jennifer Findahl, 19, of the 3100 block of Husking Peg Lane, also is being sued for wrongful death in the early morning Sept. 16, 2017, crash that killed Eweart "Daine" Rice-Picasso in Livingston County. Authorities say Findahl was traveling the wrong way and collided with a semitrailer truck.
Rice-Picasso, 18, who graduated from high school in 2017, died a few hours after the crash.
A grand jury earlier this year indicted Findahl on felony charges of aggravated DUI and reckless homicide.
Findahl is accused of being high on marijuana and ingesting it less than two hours before the crash, and being under the influence of an anti-anxiety medication, when she drove a 2007 Cadillac Escalade the wrong way on an Interstate 55 exit ramp and her vehicle was struck by a semitrailer, according to court records.
At the time of the indictment, Livingston County State's Attorney Randy Yedinak said authorities needed to obtain toxicology tests from the state crime lab before moving forward on the case. He had no further comment.
According to a traffic crash report, Findahl initially told authorities the truck was headed in the wrong direction. But the truck driver and a witness who was not involved in the crash said it was Findahl who was driving the wrong way.
After a brief court appearance this week, a jury trial was set for Sept. 17.
If convicted of the most severe charge, she faces up to 14 years in prison and must serve 85 percent of it instead of the customary 50 percent for most crimes.
Findahl's defense attorney in the criminal case, James Casson, did not return a phone message and has not commented on the case.
Last month, the father of Rice-Picasso filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against Findahl in Kane County.
The lawsuit does not cite the criminal case against Findahl or allegations she was impaired when the crash occurred. It accuses her of negligence and causing the collision that killed Rice-Picasso and seeks unspecified damages.
It was not immediately clear if an attorney had been retained to defend Findahl in the wrongful-death lawsuit. The next court date in that case is Aug. 14.