A 20-year-old man faces felony DUI charges following a West Rogers Park crash Saturday morning that killed a 17-year-old Iraqi refugee.
Chicago police said Sunday night that Francisco Campos was behind the wheel of the 2003 Ford Explorer SUV that sped through a stop sign about 2 a.m. Saturday in the 6700 block of North Artesian Avenue and struck a car westbound on West North Shore Avenue.
The crash killed Bahara Echmail, whose Orthodox Christian family fled religious persecution in Iraq about five years ago for a better life in America, a family member said.
Campos, of the 5600 block of North Central Avenue, was charged with aggravated DUI resulting in an accidental death, Chicago police said. It was unclear when Campos, who remained hospitalized Sunday night, would appear before a judge.
Echmail’s 14-year-old sister, Berola, was one of four teenage passengers in the SUV injured in the collision.
After hitting the car, the SUV struck two parked cars before hitting a tree, police said. Bahara Echmail was pronounced dead at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
Relatives said Campos and the other teens were “friends from the neighborhood, having a fun night.”