HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. (Sun-Times Media Wire) -
A 5-year-old girl was killed when a car jumped the curb and hit her, her mother and her two young brothers on Labor Day in north suburban Highland Park. Now, police are investigating whether the 18-year-old mother was "huffing" compressed air canisters before she crashed.
"We are looking at intoxicants that could include what you just mentioned," Deputy Chief David Schwarz told the Tribune in an interview when asked whether Carly Rousso was inhaling intoxicants before the crash.
Carly Rousso has been cited with a misdemeanor and is not in custody at this time.
The family was walking down the sidewalk on the north side of the 700 block of Central Avenue when the car hit all four of them at 2:31 p.m., according to a release from Highland Park police.
The girl's father, Tomas Santo de Jesus, said he was at work when his wife Modesta Sacramento-Jimenez and their three young children were hit while walking in the Highland Park neighborhood where they have lived for eight years.
"I want to explain the law to the person who hit them," said Santos de Jesus between sobs, speaking Spanish.
Jaclyn Santos-Sacramento, 5, was taken to Evanston Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 5 p.m., according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's office.
She lived in the 900 block of Deerfield Road in Highland Park, less than a half-mile from the crash, authorities said.
His wife and young sons, Daniel and Juan Carlitos, were also injured in the crash, Santos de Jesus said.
Authorities said the boys, ages 4 and 2, were taken to Highland Park Hospital where they are expected to be treated and released. His wife remains at the hospital in "fair but stable" condition.
The Lake County major Crash Assistance team and the Lake County State's Attorney's office are assisting in the investigation, police said.
"Our hearts to gout to everyone involved," Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering said in a statement released by police, adding, "This accident is a parent's worst nightmare and has created a devastating loss."
