Report: Marine was driving drunk in crash that killed three
A U.S. Marine recruiter involved in a fatal wrong-way car crash Dec. 2 on I-88 in Naperville had a blood-alcohol level more than three times the legal threshold, authorities said Wednesday.
Domenic Andreoni of Elgin was traveling east in the I-88 westbound lanes when he collided head-on with a car driven by Ali Erhaima of Aurora. The impact killed Andreoni, Erhaima and his passenger, Shiva Inampudi, who lived in Naperville.
All three were fathers of young children and Erhaima was a survivor of an al-Qaida firing squad in his native Iraq.
Andreoni, who served in Afghanistan while a Marine corporal, had a blood-alcohol level of .272, according to DuPage County Chief Deputy Coroner Charlie Dastych. The legal limit for drivers is .08.
A spokesman for the Marines referred all questions to the Illinois State Police, who are investigating the crash. Andreoni's family could not be reached for comment.
Erhaima, 32, was a loving husband and father of two who worked long hours as a ride-share driver with a smile on his face despite suffering pain from his injuries, friends said. After acting as a guard for Americans in Baghdad, he was threatened, then targeted by al-Qaida operatives who shot him numerous times and left him for dead in 2006.
"In addition to his sense of humor, he was very determined and persistent, despite the uphill battles that he faced when he came to the U.S.," said Steve Wiggers, a former World Relief case manager who assisted the Erhaima family when they settled in Aurora.
Inampudi, 40, was on his way home from O'Hare International Airport after a San Francisco business trip related to his job as a software engineer. Friends described him as a deeply religious and caring family man, with a wife and son, who loved cricket.
Andreoni, 30, was headed west on I-88 in a 2012 Toyota Camry at 12:56 a.m. when he hit a concrete barrier near Mill Street. The car spun around and began traveling east, then collided with Erhaima's westbound 2008 Chrysler 300.
Andreoni, who joined the Marines in 2009, received the National Defense Service Medal and was promoted to staff sergeant in 2015 after two deployments. He served as a recruiter in the Oak Lawn area and was married with a daughter.
According to Will County court records, Andreoni was cited in a number of offenses between 2002 and 2007, including speeding and underage possession of alcohol.
Separate GoFundMe pages have been established for Erhaima at Support for Ali Abdul Hadi's Family and for Inampudi at Support for Shiva Inampudi Family.