Overview
- Judge Donald Suriano found Steele not guilty after a two-day bench trial, saying the evidence showed only suspicion and not proof of intoxication.
- The case began with a November 2024 crash into a parked car on North Ashland Avenue where officers reported an open wine bottle, bloodshot eyes, and the smell of alcohol.
- Steele refused field sobriety, blood, and urine tests, leaving prosecutors without chemical evidence to support an impairment charge.
- Body camera video showed Steele telling officers she was an elected official, resisting requests at the scene, and making a vulgar remark to an officer.
- A political fallout followed the crash as Commissioner Sean Morrison called for her resignation and Steele later lost reelection to Liz Nicholson.