Prosecutors Now Say Defendant in DUI Death Case Did Not Violate Bond Terms

Cook County prosecutors withdrew a claim on Tuesday that , showing evidence instead that the reckless homicide defendant had a prescription for painkillers at the time of recent drug tests.

The opiates he recently tested positive for were prescribed by a doctor in November and December following hand surgeries involving pins to mend broken bones, said his attorney, Jeff Aprati.

Bryan Sord said his son fell on his left hand while exercising at Swallow Cliff in Palos Park.

Police said Sord was close to three times over the blood-alcohol limit on New Year’s Day 2010 when he lost control of his SUV near 147th Street and Oak Park Avenue, killing his 20-year-old girlfriend, Jessica Mejia, of New Lenox.

He was charged with reckless homicide and two counts of aggravated DUI and later released on a $200,000 bond that required random drug tests.

Sord returns to court on Feb. 16, when Aprati is expected to argue for an independent analysis of blood and hair samples collected from Sord’s car on the day of the crash.

Aprati contends Mejia interfered with Sord’s driving, causing the accident, and that the position of her blood and hair in the car will back up that claim.

The Mejia family is also suing Sord and various bar owners, as well as the Cook County Sheriff’s Office for allegedly .

The first round of depositions with a sheriff’s deputy who took crime scene photographs was slated to begin Tuesday, according to Telly Nakos, an attorney for the family.

Updated Feb. 1