Lisle man charged with DUI in pedestrian death

A Lisle man was charged with drunken driving after police say he struck and killed a Naperville woman late Sunday night.

Lisle police said Donna J. Early, 69, of Naperville was hit by the vehicle about 10:13 p.m. near the intersection of Yackley Avenue and Ohio Street in Lisle close to where the annual Eyes to the Skies Festival was taking place. Early was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove where she died from her injuries about 3 a.m. Monday, according to a police statement.

Police charged James D. Kisla, 51, of the 600 block of Hitchcock Avenue in Lisle at the scene, police said. He was charged with one felony count of aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol and one misdemeanor count of driving under the influence of alcohol. He was taken to DuPage County jail to await bond court.

Donna Early and her husband, Bill Early, were heading back to their home in the Steeple Run subdivision in neighboring Naperville when the accident happened. They had been watching the fireworks show from a spot in a field adjacent to the Lisle Community Park. As they attempted to cross Yackley Avenue toward Benet Academy, Bill Early says a car came out of nowhere, hitting his wife.

“Initially there was quite a bit of traffic but then there was a break,” Bill Early said Monday night. “As we started to cross, I heard my wife (make a sound) and the next thing I know she’s lying in front of me on the road. It looked like there was plenty of room for us to get across the street. It’s just a horrible blur.”

Bill and Donna Early had been married for 47 years and moved to Naperville for the school system and bike-friendly community.

“She was the best partner and mother anyone could have hoped to have,” Bill Early said. “We shared a love of biking, and we love this community and we love our neighbors. We enjoyed the whole community, and I am going to miss her every day.”

The couple has three adult children. Donna Early was preceded in death by a son who died in a work-related accident when he was 17, Bill Early said.

“I thought I would never have to go through this kind of trauma again,” Bill Early said. “I thought my wife would outlive me ... and to lose a second loved one like this is really traumatic.”

An accident reconstruction was completed at the scene and the vehicle involved was impounded for further investigation and mechanical inspection, police said.

Sunday’s incident occurred eight years after two pedestrians were struck as they crossed Route 53 at Burlington Avenue during the festival in 2003. Elizabeth Brick, of Lisle, was killed in that incident and James Cannavino, also of Lisle, survived.