Peoria man guilty in fatal street racing crash from 2021

Dean Muellerleile, Journal Star
·1 min read
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A Peoria man was convicted of reckless homicide Wednesday in a 2021 street racing crash near Sterling Plaza.

A Peoria County jury found Darien D. Davis, 33, also guilty of aggravated driving under the influence and aggravated street racing.

The crash on Sept. 4, 2021, later claimed the lives of 50-year-old Jacqueline McDuffie of Peoria and 64-year-old Debbie Smith.

Related: Peoria man indicted on charges he had drugs in his system during fatal September crash

The charges alleged Davis' car, a 2008 black BMW 750Li, collided with a 2018 Mitsubishi Mirage as that car pulled onto Sterling from Gale. Multiple witnesses told Peoria police that there was a third car, white and of an unknown make and model, headed north on Sterling with the BMW at the time of the collision, according to court records.

Surveillance cameras showed the BMW striking the Mitsubishi in the rear, causing the latter car to spin out of control, court records stated. McDuffie was thrown from the vehicle. Smith and another woman had to be extricated.

The charges alleged Davis had cocaine, amphetamine and nordiazepam in his system. Davis faces up to 40 years in prison on the charges. He is scheduled for sentencing on June 28.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Peoria man guilty in fatal street racing crash