DUI Driver Ejected From Car, Seriously Injured In Crash: Kenilworth PD

KENILWORTH, IL — Authorities say alcohol was a factor in an traffic crash early Thanksgiving morning in Kenilworth.

An intoxicated motorist driving on the wrong side of the street smashed into a concrete flower planter at the northwest corner Sheridan Road and Kenilworth Avenue shortly before 1:15 a.m. on Thursday, according to police.

Sheryl Barcik, 48, of the 2600 block of West Agatite Avenue, Chicago, was ejected from her car by the force of the collision and suffered life-threatening injuries, according to Kenilworth police.

Barcik, who was taken to Evanston Hospital, was charged with misdemeanor counts of driving under the influence of alcohol and driving under the influence of alcohol with a breath alcohol concentration of 0.08 or greater, police said.

Officers also issued her a local ordnance violation citation in connection with the damage to the village-owned planter, police said. No update on her condition was available Monday.

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Barcik, who was also ticketed for improper lane usage and failure to reduce speed to avoid a crash, has been released from custody on her own recognizance ahead of a Jan. 9 court appearance in Skokie.

According to the Illinois Department of Transportation, alcohol is involved in one of every three fatal crashes over the Thanksgiving holiday period.

And seat belts were either not worn or used improperly in at least 259 of the more than a thousand deadly traffic crashes on Illinois roads so far in 2022, provisional IDOT data shows.