A 22-year-old Moline woman pleaded not guilty Tuesday in connection with a fatal crash earlier this month.
Kendra Lee Curtis appeared Tuesday morning in Rock Island County Court, where prosecutors presented evidence she had marijuana, cocaine and alcohol in her system at the time of the crash, according to a hospital toxicology report.
That report will be sent to the Illinois State Police for an official test results, law enforcement officials testified Tuesday.
During the hearing, people – including members of the victim’s family – waited in the courtroom to hear the plea. A Rock Island County Sheriff’s Office detective described the crash and the scene. He said officials have surveillance footage of Curtis that shows her in the driver’s seat of a vehicle.
During the detective’s testimony, Curtis leaned forward and stared at him while he spoke. Her attorney motioned for her to sit back in her seat.
A trial is tentatively set to start Jan. 17, 2023.
The crash and early investigation
The crash occurred in the 2600 block of 19th Street in East Moline on Nov. 7. Law enforcement officials allege Curtis was driving a 2007 Ford Edge south on 19th Street at a high rate of speed and lost control, causing the vehicle to roll.
A passenger of the vehicle, Amia S.L. Weathers, 22, of Moline, was thrown from the vehicle. She was pronounced dead at the scene from injuries sustained in the crash.
A 24-year-old East Moline man, who was a rear-seat passenger, was also injured in the crash and transported to a hospital for treatment.