A Woodstock woman has been charged with DUI after a rollover crash that left a 4-year-old child and a teenager both hospitalized with injuries near Harvard Thursday afternoon.
The Harvard Fire Protection District and McHenry County Sheriff’s Office responded around 4 p.m. Thursday to the intersection of Route 23 and Streit Road in unincorporated Harvard for a report of a vehicle crash with entrapment.
Firefighters arrived within five minutes and located two vehicles involved with heavy damage, according to Harvard Fire Protection District Public Information Officer Alex Vucha.
One of the cars had rolled over onto its roof. Vucha said all occupants of the vehicles either freed themselves or required minor assistance to get out.
McHenry County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Porfirio Campos-Cruz said the crash involved a Nissan Rogue and a Toyota Camry.
An adult female driver, later identified as Kate B. Riker, 40, of Woodstock, and her 4-year-old boy were in the Nissan that had rolled over.
The child was transported by ambulance to Mercy Harvard Hospital with moderate injuries, Vucha said.
Vucha said Riker was evaluated by paramedics but declined treatment. She rode in the ambulance with her child to the hospital.
Vucha said a teenage driver of the second vehicle, a sedan, was transported to Javon Bea Hospital — Riverside in Rockford with moderate injuries.
The roadway remained closed in both directions south of the intersection for approximately an hour while emergency crews worked to clear the scene.
The Harvard Fire Protection District said they were assisted by the Woodstock Fire/Rescue District, Marengo Fire & Rescue District, Capron Rescue Squad and Mercyhealth MD-1.
Campos-Cruz said sheriff’s deputies suspected Riker to be under the influence of alcohol and arrested her following an investigation after she was released from the hospital later in the evening.
She was charged with aggravated driving under the influence causing a crash with a child passenger, a Class 4 felony, and child endangerment, a Class A misdemeanor. She was additionally charged with two counts of driving under the influence, a Class A misdemeanor.
A criminal complaint filed in McHenry County Circuit Court alleges Riker was driving under the influence and it was a proximate cause of the crash.
Riker endangered the life of the 4-year-old child by consuming alcohol and eventually crashing with her child in the car, the complaint said.
Campos-Cruz said the 4-year-old boy suffered a hematoma and a fractured clavicle from the crash.
Riker was released from custody on Friday after an Initial Appearance Court hearing.
McHenry County Judge Cynthia Lamb ordered Riker to be placed on pre-trial services monitoring and not consume alcohol. Riker was also ordered to be placed on an alcohol monitoring device.
Riker is scheduled to appear in court again on February 6 for a status of preliminary hearing.