Driver Questioned After Boy, 4, Killed In Dan Ryan Crash
CHICAGO (STMW) -- Authorities are questioning a motorist in a distracted driving crash that killed a 4-year-old Texas boy Sunday afternoon on the Dan Ryan Expressway.
Four children and two adults were in the Ford Expedition in the northbound lanes of the expressway near 87th Street about 4:20 p.m. when the driver lost control and the vehicle veered to the right and hit the guardrail, Illinois State Police said.
Franklin Leon Jackson, Jr., 4, was ejected from the SUV's rear passenger window, authorities said.
Jackson, of the 800 Block of Maple Street in League City, Texas, was taken to University of Chicago Comer Children's Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 5:25 p.m., according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's office.
The 46-year-old driver of the SUV, thought to be the boy's father, is being questioned in connection with the crash, police said. No charges have been filed as of Monday morning.
The boy was not wearing his seat belt at the time of the crash, police said.
The other passengers -- a 23-year-old woman thought to be the children's mother, and a 1-year-old boy, a 2-year-old boy, and a 3-month-old girl -- were all wearing their seat belts and were not injured in the crash, police said.
The cause of the crash is under investigation, but distracted driving is thought to be a contributing factor, police said.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2013. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
