Driver Charged After Car With 2 Kids Inside Crashes, Flips Multiple Times

DOWNERS GROVE, IL — A Westmont man was charged with endangering the health or life of child after police say he drove recklessly, then crashed into another vehicle, causing his car to flip multiple times with two small children inside.

Police say Jared Steverson, 37, had a warrant for his arrest on a prior shoplifting charge at the time of the April 8 incident.

Officers were called to the intersection of Belmont Road and 61st Street around 5:12 p.m. for a report of a crash. When they got to the scene, they found a black Chevy Trailblazer with damage to the top of the vehicle and a shattered windshield.

Gouges were also visible in the nearby grass, along with tire marks on the road, per the police report. Police say parts of the car were scattered nearby and it appeared the car had rolled over and landed "several hundred feet east of Belmont" north of 61st, the police report stated.

A witness told police she saw the car go through the Belmont Road stop sign while heading east on 61st Street. She said the car "came off the ground" and then landed before the driver lost control of the vehicle, according to the police report.

A man told a police officer he had been driving his Nissan on I-355 when he was hit by the Chevrolet on the ramp for 63rd Street. He said he and the driver of the Chevrolet, later identified as Steverson, entered a gas station parking lot to exchange insurance information. According to the man, Steverson fled the scene by car after the man said something about calling Downers Grove police.

The man, who was later taken to the hospital for treatment, told police he headed north on Belmont Road when he saw that the Chevy had crashed at the intersection of Belmont and 61st.

At the scene of the second crash, officers approached Steverson, who told them he did not need medical attention, nor did the one- and four-year-old children who had been int the car, the report said. Police say Steverson said the children didn't have any apparent injuries.

According to police, Steverson confirmed that he had gotten into a crash with the Nissan and pulled into a gas station, but fled the scene because he had a "bad history with police," the report said.

Police say Steverson confirmed fleeing and going through the stop sign on Belmont, unaware that there was an incline on 61st Street. He said his car went into the air, landed and "flipped multiple times," the police report stated.

Officers advised Steverson to take the children to a nearby hospital for medical treatment and he complied. Police say the children's mother took custody of them when she got to the scene.

In addition to the reckless driving and endangering the health or life of a child, Sterverson was cited for disobeying a stop sign.

At the hospital, Steverson was released on his own recognizance. The Department of Child and Family Services was notified about the incident.