COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — The alleged driver in a fatal 2009 hit-and-run was extradited from Mexico this week and charged with fleeing the scene of an accident.
Rachel Gilliam, 26, had just finished bartending at Bowman's Bar and Grill, a now-shuttered bar near Lincoln and Montrose avenues, when she stepped into the street to get in a cab about 3:40 a.m. on Nov. 1, 2009, prosecutors said.
As Gilliam walked across the bike lane, an Acura Integra hit her head-on, Assistant State's Attorney Enrique Abraham said during a bond hearing Friday.
Gilliam was thrown through the air and into the opposite lane of traffic. The taxi driver jumped out of his cab to help the woman, Abraham said, while the Acura driver kept going, leaving parts of his car laying in the road.
Gilliam was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital just after 4 a.m.
Police have identified Carlos Castillo, now 28, as the driver. Authorities said Castillo got on a bus to Mexico the day after the hit-and-run and has lived there since.
According to Abraham, Castillo had been out drinking with friends from about 10:30 p.m. on Oct. 31, 2009, to 3 a.m. on Nov. 1. The group was celebrating Halloween at MaxBar, 2247 N. Lincoln Ave. Prosecutors said Castillo drank three glasses of vodka and cranberry juice before getting behind the wheel of his 1999 gray Acura when the bar closed at 3 a.m.
After the hit-and-run, Castillo drove home, parked in his garage and went to bed, Abraham said.
Shortly after 4 p.m. on Nov. 1, Castillo flagged down a Chicago Police officer and reported that his car has been parked in front of his house when it was damaged by someone with a baseball bat, prosecutors said. The officer filed a police report.
Castillo spoke with two friends about the hit-and-run before buying a bus ticket to Mexico and leaving for the country on Nov. 2, 2009, Abraham said.
Police in the Major Accidents Unit got a search warrant in December 2009 to look at Castillo's car. According to prosecutors, there was significant damage to the car's windshield and driver's side mirror and Gilliam's blood was found on the undercarriage.
Police issued an arrest warrant in February 2010, Abraham said, and Castillo was finally extradited on Thursday. Police said he made videotaped admissions.
Castillo was charged with leaving the scene of an accident causing death.
Cook County Judge Donald Panarese Jr. ordered Castillo held in on $750,000 bail. If Castillo posts bond, he'll have to surrender his passport.
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