Carol Stream man charged in fatal crash

A Carol Stream man is accused of driving through railroad gates in Itasca and causing an accident that killed his girlfriend over the July 4 weekend, authorities said Monday.

Jeffrey S. Fisher, 39, was charged Sunday with aggravated DUI causing a death, which is a Class 2 felony that can carry a fine of $25,000 and up to 14 years in prison. The DuPage County state’s attorney’s office also charged Fisher with driving under the influence of alcohol, a Class A misdemeanor.

DuPage County Judge Michael Wolfe set bail Monday at $500,000, meaning Fisher would have to post $50,000 to be released from the county jail.

Itasca police said Fisher was driving a Ford truck south on Rohlwing Road with his girlfriend Eva Meyers, 30, in the passenger’s seat just before 3 a.m. July 3. Police said the pair were a couple who lived together in the same Carol Stream home.

The truck neared a train crossing just south of Irving Park Road as a Canadian National train approached.

“The gates were functioning, but the driver breached the gates and was struck by the train on the passenger’s side,” Deputy Police Chief Robert O’Connor said.

The truck was dragged east before the train could stop. Meyers was airlifted to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge with severe head trauma and other internal and external injuries. Fisher was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago with jaw injuries, cuts and broken bones. Prosecutors said he later registered a blood-alcohol level of 0.183, more than twice the legal threshold.

Meyers died from her injuries on July 4. Itasca police issued an arrest warrant for Fisher and escorted him from the hospital to the police station on Sunday. He was later charged by state’s attorney’s officials.

Fisher’s next court date was not immediately available.

“Driving is a privilege — not a right,” State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said in a statement. “If you have had anything to drink, do not get behind the wheel. Call a cab or a friend for a ride home. You’ll be glad you did when you wake up the next morning safely at home and not in the hospital or, worse, not waking up at all.”