State Police: Driver to be charged with DUI in Wheaton house crash
A 22-year-old Downers Grove woman faces charges of drunken driving and “numerous other offenses” for a series of crashes that took place Tuesday afternoon and led to her vehicle colliding into a Wheaton home.
Police have not released the name of the driver or her 27-year old male passenger from Woodridge, and official charges have not been announced by Wheaton police or the DuPage County State's Attorney's office.
But the Illinois State Police report released Thursday does say the driver will be charged at least for driving under the influence as “several” open alcohol containers were found in her vehicle.
Master Sgt. Bob Huber of the state police also said that both the driver and passenger had track marks on their arms, indicating they may be heroin users.
The report details the woman's 45-minute trip on two tollways and through two communities, before her black Nissan Pathfinder SUV ended up in a Wheaton family's living room.
State police said the driver, accompanied by a 27-year old male passenger from Woodridge, was westbound on I-290 near Thorndale Avenue just after 4 p.m., when she changed lanes and struck another car. That collision ripped off her car's back bumper, and it dangled as the she exited onto Thorndale.
The vehicle returned to I-290 — this time headed eastbound — and may have caused a rollover accident, Huber said.
Multiple drivers reported they saw the SUV “swerving all over the road” as it continued on southbound I-355, he said.
The driver exited on Roosevelt Road, and was involved in a crash near Blanchard Street in Wheaton, police said. One person reported being injured in that hit and run.
After making a “high-speed turn” at Naperville Road, the driver went down Farnham Road, hit a tree and crashed into the house near Huntleigh Court in Wheaton, police said.
The driver was ejected from the car, and the passenger had to be extracted by Wheaton firefighters and paramedics.
The police report says both were fighting with EMS personnel as they were trying to treat them, and both were heavily intoxicated. They were taken to Central DuPage Hospital with nonlife threatening injuries.
Police would not say whether they have been released.