A woman from Riverdale has been criminally charged with driving under the influence of alcohol after she drove her vehicle into a Chili’s restaurant on the south side, according to Fox news. The car caught on fire after the Saturday night Illinois car crash and several restaurant patrons were injured.
The Chili’s is located at 1750 W. 119th Street in the Morgan Park neighborhood. The alleged DUI motorist drove a green four-door Chevy Impala into the front corner of the restaurant. The building itself also caught on fire after the accident.
A total of eight people were injured in the accident, including the driver. There were no passengers in the vehicle. All of the injured inside the restaurant were adults. Four people were critically injured.
The Chicago Fire Department responded to the accident scene. They were able to extinguish the fire quickly and put into place what fire officials refer to as a EMS Plan 1, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
The driver, age 23, resides on S. Tracy Ave. in Riverdale and has been charged with DUI, damage to public property, failing to reduce speed to avoid an accident, driving with no insurance and driving with a suspended license.
Two of the critically injured were taken to John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County. The other two people critical were taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn.
Three of the others injured were taken to Metro South Medical Center in Blue Island in serious but stable condition. The last person was transported to Little Company of Mary Hospital and Health Care Center in stable condition.
As of Sunday afternoon the restaurant remained closed. The specific evidence of the at fault driver’s impairment (field sobriety testing, breathalyzer, etc.) has not been disclosed.
It has not reported if a Chicago pedestrian accident lawyer is involved in the case yet. Once lawyers get involved, due to the fact that the DUI driver had no insurance, they will look to set up uninsured motorist claims against the victims’ own auto insurance policies. There the plaintiff and his or her lawyer can pursue an injury claim against pedestrian’s own policy of insurance.
Hopefully each of the restaurant patrons who were critically injured in the accident possess significant auto insurance policies. That way there will be enough coverage to compensate them for their injuries and losses.
In the year 2010, according to IDOT there were just over 5,000 pedestrians injured in accidents with motor vehicles in Illinois. 115 pedestrians were killed. Approximately 97% of the accidents occurred in Urban areas
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