Paz Blood-Alcohol Level Twice Legal Limit

Diana Paz, a 25-year-old criminal justice student and mother, died Sept. 2. She was arrested hours earlier for driving the wrong way on I-290.

Attorneys on Friday announced blood-alcohol results for a Chicago woman killed in September while walking on Interstate 290.

Diana Paz, a 25-year-old criminal justice student and mother, died Sept. 2. She was arrested hours earlier for driving the wrong way on I-290.

Tim Cavanagh, attorney for Paz's family, said her blood-alcohol level was twice the legal limit when she was struck and killed.

Illinois State Police have said Paz refused a breathalyzer test when she was pulled over around 3:23 a.m. and failed field sobriety tests. She was arrested and released on bond at approximately 5:40 a.m. at the Westchester Police Department, police said. As a courtesy, police said, a state trooper drove her to a nearby BP Amoco.

Paz was struck at about 6:10 a.m. that day by a Toyota truck just east of Mannheim Road. A witness statement given to police stated she was walking in a marked median area on the expressway.

Her family filed a lawsuit days later against the Illinois State Police, BP Amoco and others.

Family members said the levels prove Paz was still intoxicated when police dropped her off at the gas station.
 

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