South Elgin man charged in Lombard crash that killed woman

A South Elgin man has been charged with causing a fatal crash while intoxicated, killing a 35-year-old woman and seriously injuring a passenger in her vehicle.

Dwayne Rushing, 48, faces one felony count of aggravated DUI causing death and one felony count of aggravated DUI causing great bodily harm.

A DuPage County judge ordered Rushing to be detained pretrial.

On May 10, at about 5:24 p.m., Lombard police responded to a call of a multi-vehicle crash at 2780 S. Highland Ave., just north of Butterfield Road. Officers found the front end of a 2021 Volvo had crashed into the driver’s side of a 2026 Subaru Outback.

Both vehicles had substantial damage, and the occupants of both the Volvo and the Subaru were taken to a hospital. The 35-year-old, Laura O’Keefe, suffered traumatic brain injuries and, after being placed on life support following emergency surgery, was pronounced deceased Tuesday, according to the DuPage state’s attorney’s office.

Her passenger suffered serious injuries and was admitted to an intensive care unit.

Rushing is accused of driving the Volvo south on Highland when he rear-ended a Toyota, then went around the Toyota, drove over a grass parkway and crashed into the Subaru, later determined to be driven by O’Keefe, as it was stopped at an exit from a shopping plaza waiting to turn right onto Highland Avenue.

Authorities alleged that when officers spoke with Rushing at the scene, they detected a strong odor of alcohol emitting from him and observed him to be unsteady on his feet, have mumbled speech and glassy, bloodshot eyes, the state’s attorney’s office said in a news release.

Authorities further alleged that Rushing’s blood alcohol content was 0.116 and that when searching his vehicle, officers recovered an open alcoholic beverage from the driver’s seat.

His next court appearance is set for June 8.