SUV Slams Into Two Businesses In Oak Park; Driver Charged With DUI
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A Chicago man has been charged with drunk driving, after his SUV plowed into two businesses in west suburban Oak Park early Thursday.
Around 2:15 a.m., a 5,000-pound GMC Yukon crashed into a tattoo parlor and a neighboring barber shop near Chicago and Harvey avenues.
The crash caused severe damage to both businesses, which will have to be closed indefinitely for repairs. The building owner said he could not believe the extent of the damage.
"I was laying in bed, approximately at 2:30. Neighbor next door gave me a call, and said, 'Hey, Brown, your building's destroyed. All types of cops out here, and fire trucks, and everything.' And I said, 'You gotta be kidding.' I hopped out of bed, and came down, and to my surprise I cannot believe what I just saw," Tim Brown said. "A car lodged in the front of my building, the units, and just water everywhere, bricks everywhere."
The driver, 25-year-old Larell Jackson, of the West Garfield Park neighborhood in Chicago, was arrested and charged with driving under the influence, failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident, driving on the sidewalk, and operating an uninsured motor vehicle.
A female passenger was taken to Loyola University Medical Center, but police said her injuries were not life-threatening. Her condition was not immediately available Thursday morning.
Sources said two children were in the back seat, and were not injured.
Neighbors said the force of the collision was tremendous.
"I heard a loud crash, looked out the window, and then just saw that, and called 911," one neighbor said.
When emergency crews eventually opened the door of the Yukon, a massive amount of water poured out of the vehicle, which had come to a stop on top of a water main.
City officials said all utilities in the building have been shut off, while crews assess the damage from the crash.
