More Details Released on Fatal Chicago Drunk Driving Accident

May 12, 2010 - More details are emerging about the fatal car accident that took the life of a five-year-old boy on Monday. According to reports at the Chicago Sun-Times, the alleged drunk driver who caused the accident was stopped by police officers with the Chicago Heights Police Department less than an hour before the fatal crash.

Police stopped a 22-year-old man and his 23-year-old girlfriend just after 2:30 a.m. on Monday morning. The woman was behind the wheel and police stopped her for a turn violation. As the Sun-Times reports, the woman was arrested because she was driving with a suspended license, so the police officers gave the keys to her boyfriend. The woman's 5-year-old son was strapped into a car seat in the back seat.

Less than an hour later, the boyfriend crashed the car into a tree. Police believe that the child died instantly from a broken neck. The boyfriend, who was not seriously injured in the crash, was arrested and charged with drunk driving and reckless homicide; he also tested positive for marijuana. The police officer who gave the boyfriend the keys has not been identified, but the Chicago Heights Police Chief has said that the officer did not suspect that he had been drinking.