Eight hurt when city worker’s pick-up truck hits pedestrians

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Isiah Watkins, who witnessed bad car crash caused by possible drunk city worker across the street from the Ashkenas restaurant at 6 E. Ceder where he works, talks about the accident on May 21, 2011. l Keith Hale~Sun-Times

Updated: June 23, 2011 12:41AM

A city laborer lost control of a work truck and struck a toddler and several pedestrians — some of whom were models in a wedding photo shoot — Saturday afternoon in the Gold Coast neighborhood, police said.

A child, about 2 years old, suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was taken to Children’s Memorial Hospital. Six adults were struck and injured, two of them “very critically,” police said. One of the critically injured was the toddler’s caretaker, a woman in her 20s who was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

The accident occurred at 12:20 p.m. at 6 E. Cedar. A city Department of Streets and Sanitation worker was driving a city-owned pickup truck north on State when the track crashed at the three-way intersection of Rush, Cedar and State streets. The pedestrians were on the sidewalk on the southeast corner of the intersection.

“The driver lost control,” Chicago Police Spokesman John Mirabelli said. “He collided with this photo shoot and any bystanders nearby.”

The driver of the white Ford F150 pickup truck was a Streets and Sanitation employee who was in the middle of his shift when the accident occurred, Mirabelli said. It was not immediately known why he lost control of the truck.

Isaiah Watkins, who works at Ashkenaz Deli across the street from the crash, said the driver appeared “very disoriented” after the crash. Police performed what appeared to be a field sobriety test on the driver at the scene, he said.

Investigators were interviewing the driver, but no charges had been filed nor tickets issued as of 9:30 p.m., Mirabelli said. He declined to comment on whether alcohol or drugs were a factor in the crash.

Watkins was startled by the noise of the pickup truck sideswiping another vehicle.

“I’m sitting here working and the next thing we see is the truck directly in front of the door. People were scattering, flying and dispersing,” he said. “... I saw at least three or four people lying on the ground, blood on the ground. People were crying. It was a horrible sight.”

The photographer conducting a photo shoot of several models portraying a wedding was one of the injured. The models portraying “the bride and groom did not sustain life-threatening injuries,” Mirabelli said.

Fire Department officials said one victim was taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center in serious to critical condition. Three victims were taken to Northwestern — two in serious to critical condition, and one in good condition. The remaining three were taken to Saint Joseph Hospital — two in fair condition and one in good condition, according to Fire Department Spokesman Richard Rosado.

The motorist was among those hospitalized, but Mirabelli did not know the extent of his injuries.

Streets and Sanitation spokesman Matt Smith confirmed Saturday that the driver, who had not yet been identified, worked for his department.

“He was a laborer who was driving one of our Loop Unit pick-up trucks. He was on duty at the time of the accident, and he was responsible for emptying trash baskets and picking up stray debris,” Smith said, declining to comment further.

Contributing: Amanda Barrett