Family of Plainfield DUI Crash Victim Grieves Loss, Celebrates New Life

The family of John Burns, a 24-year-old from Plainfield who died in January in a fatal drunk driving crash, is coping with his loss but is also celebrating new life. Monique Armstrong, John’s other half, gave birth to their daughter, Kinsley Burns, on May 17 - the day before what would have been her father’s 25th birthday.

John Burns went to Skooter’s Roadhouse in Shorewood with his friend Timothy Griffin on Jan. 30, a night that turned fatal.

The Herald-News reports:

According to Joliet police, a passing Uber driver saw Timothy’s silver Dodge Neon weaving on County Line Road before jumping the curb and flipping over several times as it struck two trees, a utility box and a fence. The car came to rest upright in a backyard off the 900 block of Hudson Drive in the Kearney Glen subdivision.

Some residents woke up to see Timothy check on his passenger, climb out through the window and jump over a fence to get to the street, police said. Others chased him through the neighborhood until officers arrived and took him to Presence Saint Joseph Medical Center to be treated for injuries that were not life-threatening. John died at the hospital at 4:07 a.m. After a blood draw was obtained, Timothy, 25, was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol. He and his attorney, Steve White, declined to comment for this story.