Details emerge about driver in fatal I-88 crash

August 9, 2011 (CHICAGO) (WLS) -- A man driving a Porsche the wrong way on I-88 on Saturday caused a crash that killed two members of an Elmhurst family.

Investigators are still waiting to question the driver who was injured and is hospitalized but expected to survive. The I-Team has learned that he is a Naperville resident and a licensed dentist. And before charges are filed, authorities are sorting through some disturbing possibilities.

At 6:30 Saturday evening on the Reagan Tollway, a red 2006 Porsche was headed eastbound.

According to witnesses, the driver of the car, 43-year-old William Anthony Howe of Naperville, pulled into an emergency turn-around lane, paused for a time, then shot into oncoming traffic and head on into a 2004 Toyota Corolla. Two passengers in the Toyota were killed and a third hospitalized.

In the Porsche state police say there was no evidence of drugs or alcohol. But the I-Team has learned that the driver suspected of ramming his car into oncoming traffic has a scheduled court date in three weeks on charges from last winter.

According to Naperville police, Howe was stopped at midnight on Sunday, February 6, exactly six months prior to last weekend's fatal crash. He was charged with driving under the influence of drugs and having an expired registration. The local dentist was released on $3,000 bail.

While Howe's dentist's license is current, the phone has been disconnected at his last known office address. He had filed for bankruptcy several years ago and in May the IRS hit him with an $11,000 tax lien.

Just before Saturday's wrong-way crash, witnesses told police they saw cash flying from Howe's Porsche.

Among the scenarios police sources say are being considered is that this was no accident but rather a suicide attempt.

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i-team, chuck goudie

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