A judge on Saturday allowed the pretrial release of a South Side woman who prosecutors said was drunk when her car slammed into the rear of a motorcyclist, killing her earlier this week.
Judge D’Anthony Thedford denied the prosecution’s request to hold Miracle J. Hall in jail pending her criminal trial for aggravated DUI resulting in death for the Wednesday death of Mehrnoosh Hatami, of Gary, Indiana.
Hatami, 49, was riding south in the 400 block of South Lake Shore Drive around 11:30 p.m. when she was struck by a gray Ford Fusion sedan traveling in the same direction, police said. She was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
The collision caused a car fire that Chicago firefighters had to extinguish, according to Hall’s arrest report.
Following the collision, one eyewitness told authorities they saw Hall run toward the lake and dump out clear liquid from a glass bottle before returning to the crash scene, the report stated. A second witness at the scene said Hall appeared to be distracted by a cellphone when she slammed into the rear of the victim’s motorcycle, the report stated.
In addition to the DUI felony, Hall, 25, of Auburn Gresham, also faces two misdemeanors for driving under the influence and two citations, one for operating an uninsured motor vehicle and another for failing to reduce speed.
Hall has a prior conviction for aggravated battery to a police officer after she was accused of firing a Roman candle firework into the face of a police officer during Fourth of July celebrations at a South Side park in 2021.
On social media, friends of Hatam remembered her as a highly respected member of the Chicago area motorcycle community, who regularly rides the area roadways during summer nights. A mother of two and a grandmother, Hatami was a “proud member of Chicago United Riders and co-founder of Illinois Rider Escape, where she helped bring riders together and empower others,” according to her online obituary.
A visitation will be held Wednesday with a funeral planned for the following day.
In court, Judge Thedford allowed Hall to be released on electronic monitoring, finding that the state didn’t meet the grounds to hold her, but barred her from driving and ordered her to report to the adult probation program, according to court records.
Hall is scheduled to return to court on Tuesday.