Motorist Charged With Fatally Striking Two-Year-Old

CHICAGO (STMW) -- Bond was set at $500,000 on Sunday for a a 27-year-old South Side man charged with driving drunk when his car struck and killed a 2-year-old girl Friday as she walked with her grandmother to a day-care center in Englewood, authorities said.

Kellen E. Bledsoe's blood alcohol level was .252 — more than three times the legal limit — prosecutors said in court Sunday when he appeared before Cook County Judge Donald Panarese. Bledsoe is charged with reckless homicide and two counts of aggravated DUI, among other charges and citations in connection with the crash that happened at 6:30 a.m. Friday.

Jamya Love was hit by the 1999 Chrysler Concord driven by Bledsoe as she walked alongside her grandmother, who was pushing a baby stroller across the street, near West 56th and South Morgan streets, Chicago Police said.

Witnesses told police the driver ran a stop sign before striking the girl.

The car then careered across the center lane and hit several construction barriers before crashing into two vehicles. Police said Bledsoe tried to run but was arrested by officers who were in the area.

An infant in the stroller and Jamya's grandmother weren't hurt, though the 57-year-old woman was "emotionally distraught," police said. Bledsoe was also charged with driving without a license and operating a vehicle without insurance and issued several citations.

In August, he was arrested on charges of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon - in this case a rifle, prosecutors said.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2013. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)