Hanover Park faces DUI charges following accident in which his children were injured, prosecutors

A motion was granted Tuesday deny pre-trial release for a Hanover Park man accused of crashing his car into a tree and injuring two children in his vehicle, both under 8-years-old, prosecutors said.

Eric Hernandez, 31, of the 2100 block of Cedar Avenue, was charged with two counts of aggravated DUI–great bodily harm and multiple counts of misdemeanor and petty traffic offenses including driving too fast for conditions or failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident and two counts of child restraint violation–child under 8-years-old, according to a DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office news release.

About 6:37 p.m. Nov. 9, Hanover Park police responded to the 6N 200 block of County Farm Road for a crash with injuries. Police saw a black Honda CRV with extensive front end damage in the front yard of a residence on County Farm Road, according to the report.

Two children, later identified as Hernandez’s son and stepdaughter, were found in the grass nearby. The boy was lying sideways on the grass and officers saw a large amount of blood on his face. The girl was lying near the boy, crying and appeared to have an injury to her arm, authorities said.

Following an investigation, it is alleged that Hernandez was speeding on southbound on County Farm Road when he rear-ended another vehicle that was traveling at approximately 40 mph. After rear-ending the other vehicle, Hernandez allegedly swerved into oncoming traffic lanes, left the roadway and struck a tree, according to the release.

Hernandez and the children were transported to a local hospital for medical attention. Hernandez’s BAC was allegedly 0.151, authorities said. The driver of the other vehicle was uninjured, authorities said.

“It is alleged that after he had been drinking, Mr. Hernandez got behind the wheel of his car with two children on board not restrained by a child seat and crashed his car, first into another vehicle and then into a tree, causing serious injuries to the children in his car,” DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said in the release. “This type of dangerous behavior put not only the children in his car in great danger, but also put the motoring public at risk. It is my sincerest hope that the young children hurt as a result of Mr. Hernandez’s alleged actions will fully recover from their injuries.”

“This case is yet another example of the potential dangers when one drinks and drives,” Riedel said. “In Hanover Park, we have zero tolerance for this type of behavior because of the danger it poses to drivers, passengers and the motoring public,” Hanover Park Deputy Chief of Police Matt Riedel said in the release.

Hernandez’s next court appearance is scheduled for Dec. 9 for arraignment. If found guilty, Hernandez faces a penalty of up to 12 years in prison.