CHICAGO — Just 10 days after getting out of prison for his eighth felony conviction, Karris Turner caused a crash on the Dan Ryan Expressway that left a woman paralyzed and his new girlfriend with two seriously broken legs, officials say. Turner, 35, fled the wreck without helping anyone, and he never reported the crash or called 911, according to the charges.
State troopers were assisting a motorist on the Ryan near 43rd Street when they saw the crash occur in the inbound express lanes around 3:20 a.m. on August 11. They arrived on scene and found a woman lying on the sidewalk and five cars damaged.
Their investigation revealed that while Turner was sitting in the front passenger seat with his 24-year-old girlfriend, he struck another vehicle, causing a chain reaction, officials said.
Turner’s Hyundai turned and struck a 36-year-old woman standing outside her SUV in the shoulder, prosecutors said in an arrest filing. She was the woman found on the sidewalk and according to a lawsuit, the crash left her paralyzed.
Officials said Turner’s girlfriend underwent multiple surgeries to repair her broken legs.
State police detectives tried to locate Turner for weeks and finally decided to obtain an arrest warrant on Oct. 1, an ISP statement said. Chicago police officers recently arrested him during a traffic stop.
Judge William Fahy held Turner on a flight risk basis and on a parole order from the Illinois Department of Correction. Turner returned to prison last week and is expected to remain there until August 1, when his four-year sentence for aiding the escape of a felon expires, according to IDOC. He is suspected of leaving the scene of an accident with injuries.
His previous convictions include being a felon in possession of a firearm in 2019; drug-related charges in 2017, 2013 and 2007; and aggravated battery causing serious bodily harm to a peace officer in 2008.
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