Chicago woman hospitalized after single-vehicle DUI crash in rural DeKalb County

A Chicago woman was hospitalized after suffering injuries when her car flipped and caught fire after a crash that DeKalb County Sheriff’s officials said was caused by her driving under the influence.

Brittany T. Yates, 28, of the 9000 block of South Oakley Avenue in Chicago, is charged with driving under the influence and improper lane usage after the Thursday crash, according to a news release from the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies responded to reports of the crash about 11:07 p.m. Thursday on Cherry Valley Road west of Glidden Road in rural Kingston Township, the office reported.

Yates’ Chevrolet Equinox was headed east on Cherry Valley Road when the car veered off the road into a ditch to the south, according to the release. The car then collided with a nearby farm entrance, which caused the vehicle to go airborne and roll over at least once with Yates inside.

The car eventually came to rest in the south ditch on its roof and then caught fire, sheriff’s deputies said.

Deputies found Yates lying in the ditch west of the vehicle. She was taken by Genoa-Kingston paramedics to Northwestern Medicine Kishwaukee Hospital in DeKalb and later transferred by a medical helicopter to OSF St. Anthony’s Hospital in Rockford.

A sheriff’s office investigation determined that Yates was intoxicated at the time of the crash. She was charged and released into the care of St. Anthony’s Hospital, deputies reported.

Yates was wearing her seatbelt at the time of the crash. No one else was in the car with her.