Aurora man charged after striking group teens with car

A 37-year-old man is in custody after police said he lost control of his car over the weekend and hit three teenagers standing off the roadway on Galena Avenue in Aurora.

Uriel Soto-Castro, of the 400 block of Spring Street in Aurora, has been charged with aggravated drunken driving, driving without a license, disobeying a stop sign and failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident.

Police said Soto-Castro was driving his 1990 Ford Thunderbird westbound on Galena Avenue Saturday afternoon when he apparently disregarded a stop sign at Hill Avenue, left the roadway and struck the three teens.

Police officers arrived shortly before 3 p.m. and found the three teens - a 13-year-old girl, 16-year-old girl and 15-year-old boy - lying on the road. A 17-year-old girl who was with the group was also at the scene but apparently just missed being hit, police said.

The three injured teens are being treated at Aurora-area hospitals for their injuries, which are not life-threatening, police said.

Following the collision with the teens, police said Soto-Castro continued west and struck a Chevrolet pickup truck in the driveway of a business on the 1000 block of Galena Boulevard.

Following the crash, Soto-Castro attempted to run away but was held until police arrived by the 40-year-old driver of the pickup truck, his 42-year-old passenger and an off-duty Fox Valley Park District police officer who happened to be in the area at the time of the crash.

Neither the occupants of the pickup truck, Soto-Castro nor a 31-year-old Aurora man with him in the Thunderbird were hurt, police said.

Soto-Castro remains in custody at the Kane County jail on a $50,000 bail. His next court date is Feb. 18.