UPDATED 4:05 P.M. 7/5/24
A Galesburg woman is out of jail after causing a hit-and-run accident Thursday night that left a person dead, not long after the “Big Bang Boom” fireworks show ended.
Galesburg Police say Martha E. Ray, 65, was taken to the Knox County Jail on a charge of Leaving the Scene of a Fatality Crash. Court records indicate she also faces a charge of Aggravated Driving Under the Influence.
The crash happened just outside Lake Storey around 11 p.m. Thursday, in the 3500 block of North Henderson Street. Police say Eric McKinney, 46, was on a bicycle in that area when a vehicle headed southbound struck.
Police say a male was found unresponsive in the road, taken to OSF HealthCare St. Mary Medical Center, and was pronounced dead more than an hour later.
According to court records, Ray appeared in court Friday, where Judge Chad Long denied a prosecution request to keep her in jail. Long instead allowed her release, but ordered Ray to Pretrial Services Monday morning for an evaluation. She has a 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew, and can’t operate any vehicle without a Breath Alcohol Ignition Interlock Device. Ray is scheduled to appear in court July 31 for a preliminary hearing.
Ray had been scheduled to appear in court later this month on a case from June charging her with Texting While Driving and Failure to Reduce Speed to Avoid an Accident, but the trial has been canceled for now.
