Woman charged with DUI in wrong-way Chicago expressway crash that killed fitness coach

CHICAGO (CBS) — A woman has been charged with drunk driving and reckless homicide after a wrong-way crash that killed a beloved fitness coach on the Kennedy Expressway earlier this week.

Illinois State Police said 21-year-old Jakyla Hester was driving under the influence of alcohol and driving without a license around 4:30 a.m. Wednesday, when she started heading south in the northbound lanes of Interstate 90 near Cumberland and hit a 2012 Honda sedan.

The driver of the Honda, 27-year-old Quinn Fraboni, died at the scene.

Hester was taken to a local hospital with injuries after the crash. She has been charged with one felony count of reckless homicide and two felony counts of aggravated DUI. She was also cited for driving without a license, driving without insurance, disobeying a traffic control device, driving the wrong way on a divided highway, and driving under the influence of alcohol.

She was scheduled to appear for a detention hearing on Friday.

Fraboni’s death left his colleagues and clients at Flexx Personal Training, where he worked as a coach, shattered.

Flexx owner Connor Flahive said news of Fraboni’s death was “surreal.”

Fraboni started at Flexx as a client before becoming a standout fitness coach.

“The way that he was able to connect with people and be a part of their lives and no matter what they were going through, what he was going through,” said Flahive. “It was like, you walk through that door, and it was high-five [with a] smile on his face.”

The Flexx team put training sessions on pause as they tried to cope with the loss. Coaches said they now have one priority.

“Number one thing is that Quinn will be like just ingrained in what we do moving forward,” Flahive said.