Streator woman ticketed in Hampshire Township crash that injured seven

The Kane County Sheriff’s Office has ticketed Michele Sotelo, 22, of Streator, in a motor vehicle crash in which she and six passengers in her vehicle were injured at 6:35 p.m. Saturday at the intersection of Route 72 at Walker Road in Hampshire Township.

In a statement, the sheriff’s office said Sotelo, who was taken to Amita Health St. Joseph’s Hospital in Elgin for treatment of minor injuries, has been cited with complaints of driving without a valid license, operating an uninsured motor vehicle, four counts of misdemeanor child endangerment and four counts of failure to restrain a child in a safety seat.

Because of her need for continuing medical treatment for her injuries, the sheriff’s office gave Sotelo a notice to appear in court on the citations.

The sheriff’s office said in the statement that one adult female passenger in Sotelo’s vehicle was flown to a Rockford hospital for treatment of injuries that were serious but not life-threatening , while four male juveniles passengers age five or younger were taken to Amita Health St. Joseph’s Hospital with minor injuries.

Another passenger in Sotelo’s vehicle was flown from Amita Health St. Joseph’s Hospital to another Chicago area hospital for treatment of injuries that were serious but not life-threatening, according to the sheriff’s office.

The sheriff’s office reported they determined that only one of the children in Sotelo’s vehicle was in a child safety seat.

According to the sheriff’s office’s initial investigation, the crash occurred as a Freightliner semi-truck was traveling east on Route 72 approaching the intersection of Walker Road when a Nissan Quest driven by Sotelo, which was traveling north on Walker Road, failed to stop at the stop sign at the intersection. Sotelo was trying to turn her vehicle west onto Walker Road and the semi-truck was unable to stop, according to the sheriff’s office.

The driver of the semi, a 59 year old man from Carpentersville, was uninjured, according to the sheriff’s office.

The sheriff’s office also reported that it does not appear drugs or alcohol played a role in this crash.