Police say that a suspected drunk driver struck and killed a 5-year-old girl with his truck in an unincorporated area between Long Grove and Arlington Heights.
The Cook County Sheriff’s Office responded around 11 p.m. Saturday to the 4000 block of Jennifer Lane in unincorporated Arlington Heights.
The Long Grove Fire Protection District also responded to the scene.
A spokesperson for the sheriff’s office said a man, identified as 28-year-old Jesus Guillen Escobar, was driving a blue Ford F-150.
Escobar was traveling in an unknown direction on Jennifer Lane when he struck a 5-year-old girl.
The family of the child drove her to a local hospital where she pronounced dead just after midnight on Sunday.
Escobar remained at the scene and deputies conducted a field sobriety test on him but he failed it, the sheriff’s office said.
He was then taken into custody and transported to Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights.
Criminal charges are pending as the investigation is still ongoing and investigators are awaiting bloodwork.
“We extend our deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of this young victim,” the sheriff’s office said, calling the incident “tragic.”
The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the girl as Maria Nica and confirmed she died from multiple blunt force injuries consistent with being struck by a vehicle.
Maria lived in an apartment on the same block where she was hit by the truck.