A 35-year-old man from the western suburb of Berwyn faces numerous charges after a Chicago drunk driving accident on Labor Day weekend that sent three children in his vehicle to the hospital following a Sunday crash outside Ford City Mall.
The man faces charges of felony DUI, reckless driving, failure to reduce speed, driving on a revoked license while intoxicated and causing an accident while intoxicated that causes bodily harm, according to the Chicago Breaking News Center.
A 7-year-old suffered a spinal fracture and other broken bones in the crash, according to the Chicago Tribune. The remaining children, ages 9 and 10, were also hurt.
The Tribune reported the driver was believed to have had a blood-alcohol limit more than three times the legal Illinois limit of .08. The driver of the car that was struck also suffered injury. The man charged was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center for treatment. He was also scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday.
The car crash happened outside the mall about 2:20 p.m., near Cicero Avenue and 76th Street. The vehicle carrying the children was headed south on Cicero when it crossed over into oncoming traffic and hit the other vehicle, police reported.
In 2007, about 1 in every 3 fatalities involved a drunk driver–more than 13,000 were killed nationwide, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
For more information on Chicago DUI accidents, visit the Chicago car accident blog and Summer Safe Driving series.