A civil lawsuit has been filed against a Highland Park, Illinois teenager who was accused of “huffing” a cleaning agent just before striking a family with a car on Labor Day, killing a 5-year-old girl. The case was settled for an undisclosed amount, while the date for the teen’s criminal trial has been pushed back, once again.
Carly Rousso, who recently turned 19 years old, is out of jail on $500,000 bond. She appeared in a Lake County, Illinois court earlier this week. According to court records, there has been a settlement in the wrongful death lawsuit filed against her.
The criminal trial was originally set for July 12th but has been changed to September 27th. A pre-trial date is scheduled for July 16th.
According to authorities, Rousso lost control of the Lexus she was driving, as it careened across several lanes of traffic onto the sidewalk, striking a woman and her three children. Jaclyn Santos-Sacramento, 5-years-old, of Highland Park, a suburb of Chicago, died on Labor Day.
Rousso has been charged with two counts of reckless homicide and four counts of aggravated DUI, and was accused of inhaling fumes from a computer dust cleaner, known as “huffing” just minutes before crashing a car into Jaclyn, her mother and her two brothers last year in Highland Park.
Jaclyn’s mother, Modesta Sacramento-Jimenez and her two brothers, Daniel, 4 years old and Juan Carlos, 2 years old, survived the crash and were not seriously injured. Jaclyn Santos Sacramento died later that day at Evanston Hospital from the injuries she sustained.
Laboratory toxicology tests obtained following the accident indicate Rousso’s blood sample contained the presence of the chemical difluoroethane, which is found in commercial cleaning products. The substance in Rousso’s blood matched a cleaning product found in the car she was driving, according to authorities.
The lawsuit also accused Rousso of backing the car over Jaclyn in an attempt to flee the scene. It was reported that a local high school student interceded after Rousso struck Jaclyn and her family, forcibly removing the keys from Rousso’s ignition.
Rousso faces up to 26 years in prison if convicted on all charges, according to prosecutors. Although she is free on $500,000 bond, she has been placed on court-ordered curfew of 9:00 pm to 7:00 am and must submit to random testing and home visits from authorities. She is not permitted to drive.
Court records state that the settlement check for the lawsuit was to be made payable to the parents of Jaclyn Santos-Sacramento, Modesta Sacramento Jimenez and Tomas Santos DeJesus.
Rousso was accused of wrongful death, negligence and negligent infliction of emotional distress.
Family members declined to comment on the case.
Do you think Rousso deserves 26 years in prison for her recklessness and negligence in the death of this 5-year-old girl?
Feel free to comment on this blog post. For more information, contact one of our Gacovino Lake attorneys at 1-800-246-HURT (4878).
