Downers Grove Woman Gets 3rd DUI With 11-Year-Old In Car: Police Blotter

DOWNERS GROVE, IL — A Downers Grove woman faces her third DUI charge and charges of child endangerment after police say she drove intoxicated with her 11-year-old in the backseat.

Karen Vana, 40, was charged with aggravated DUI: 3rd violation, endangering the health or life of a child, speeding over statutory limit, disobeying a traffic signal and improper lane usage in connection with the Aug. 29 incident.

Police say they pulled Vana over around 11:45 p.m. for "multiple traffic violations," according to a police report.

Per the police report, Vana disobeyed a red light near Good Samaritan Hospital, then reached speeds of up to 43 miles an hour on Main Street before almost striking a curb near 41st and Saratoga.

An officer who stopped Vana reported that there was a "strong odor of alcoholic beverages" and that her child, 11, was in the car's backseat.

Police say Vana told them she had not been drinking recently, as she had been at the hospital for five hours.

Vana was given a preliminary breath test around 12:10 a.m. and it registered her blood alcohol concentration at .211, the police report said.

Police say the child was picked up by a grandparent after the incident.