A 22-year-old Chicago woman pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges tied to the October 2025 crash on Interstate 88 that resulted in the death of a 27-year-old Rochelle woman.

Makayla J. Griffith of Chicago was charged Feb. 27 in Lee County with aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol that resulted in a person’s death, a Class 2 felony that carries a prison sentence of 3 to 14 years; aggravated reckless driving, a Class 4 felony; reckless driving, a Class A misdemeanor; and two petty offenses of improper lane use and failure to reduce speed, court records show.

The charges stem from Oct. 20, 2025, when at 9:22 a.m. Illinois State Police and the Rochelle Fire Department responded to a crash on westbound Interstate 88 at milepost 71 in Lee County. Araceli Zepeda of Rochelle, a passenger in the vehicle Griffith was driving, was found unresponsive at the scene and died later that night.

According to state police, an East Dundee man was driving a Ford Transit west on I-88 when Griffith, driving a Mazda CX-7, struck the Ford’s rear end at a high rate of speed. The Mazda left the road to the right and overturned multiple times.

Griffith, Zepeda and an 18-year-old Rochelle woman, who was also a passenger, were ejected from the Mazda. All four individuals involved in the crash were taken to area hospitals with injuries, according to police.

In the charges against Griffith, Lee County prosecutors allege she drove under the influence of alcohol, at an unreasonably high speed, swerved between lanes and willfully and wantonly disregarded the safety of others, court records show.

On Wednesday, Griffith appeared via Zoom before Lee County Circuit Judge Jacquelyn D. Ackert. She pleaded not guilty and waived her right to a preliminary hearing.

Griffith was not detained when the charges were filed in February, and Ackert ordered pretrial release on March 18 as prosecutors did not file a petition to detain, court records show.

The conditions of her release are that she must not leave the state without court permission; undergo a drug and alcohol evaluation; not possess or consume alcohol, illegal drugs or cannabis; not enter an establishment thats primary purpose is the sale of alcohol or cannabis; report to court services and comply with its orders; appear for scheduled hearings and submit to court orders, court records show.

Griffith’s next court date is set at 8:30 a.m. June 4.