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Driver Used PCP, Stuck Foot Out Window Before Fatal Crash, Prosecutors Say

By  Erica Demarest and Kelly Bauer | July 26, 2017 8:24am | Updated on July 28, 2017 11:18am

 David Arocho, 24, is charged with reckless homicide and aggravated DUI causing death.
David Arocho, 24, is charged with reckless homicide and aggravated DUI causing death.
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DNAinfo; Chicago Police Department

COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — The man who caused a fatal crash in Archer Heights late Sunday had opioids and Vicodin in his system, prosecutors said Wednesday.

David Arocho, 24, was behind the wheel of a 1996 GMC Jimmy SUV when he rammed into a car stopped at a light, causing his own SUV to flip in a crash that killed his passenger, 26-year-old Jessica Kall, authorities said.

Arocho is charged with reckless homicide and aggravated DUI causing death. He was also cited for speeding, driving without a license and driving without insurance.

Bail was set Wednesday at $100,000.

According to prosecutors, Arocho was spotted driving erratically near Archer Avenue and Pulaski Road about 11:30 p.m. Sunday. Witnesses saw Arocho allegedly speed, weave in and out of his lane, and drive while sticking his foot out of the driver's side window.

Kall, meanwhile, reportedly tried to open her door while the SUV was in motion.

At the intersection of Archer and Avers avenues, prosecutors said, Arocho rammed his SUV into a stopped Jeep — sending the Jeep into the intersection and causing the GMC Jimmy to flip onto its top.

Kall was ejected from the SUV and pronounced dead on the scene, Assistant State's Attorney Craig Taczy said during a bond hearing Wednesday at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse, 2650 S. California Ave.

Arocho, of the 6300 block of West 65th Street, was treated at Mt. Sinai Hospital for neck and leg injuries, prosecutors said. The driver of the Jeep was not injured.

Preliminary blood work revealed Arocho had opioids and Vicodin in his system, Taczy said. Arocho told authorities he had used PCP while driving. The results of a DUI kit are pending.