Cops: Steger mom drunk when she backed over, killed toddler
BY STEVE METSCH smetsch@southtownstar.com July 20, 2012 1:04PM
Yvette Y. Guerrero-Silva | Photo courtesy of Crete police
Updated: August 23, 2012 10:43AM
The mother of a 21-month-old Steger girl who died after she was struck by a minivan has been charged with two counts of felony aggravated drunken driving and was in police custody Friday, with her bail set at $1 million, police said.
Yvette Guerrero-Silva, 40, inadvertently hit the child with the van, causing her death, Crete police said.
A preliminary investigation found that Guerrero-Silva, of 401 W. Richton Road in Steger, was backing her van down a gravel driveway at 1132 Main St. in Crete at 7:12 p.m. when she struck her daughter, who had been playing in the area, police said.
Holly Silva suffered massive head injuries and was pronounced dead at St. James Hospital in Chicago Heights a short time later, according to police.
In a statement given to police at the accident scene, Guerrero-Silva “admitted consuming several alcoholic beverages just prior” to the accident, police said.
Initial results of a blood test at the hospital indicated Guerrero-Silva’s blood-alcohol count was over the legal limit, police said.
Guerrero-Silva’s license has been suspended since 2008 for failure to pay traffic tickets and for driving without insurance, according to Dave Druker, a spokesman for the Illinois secretary of state’s office.
A Will County judge on Thursday issued an arrest warrant for Guerrero-Silva. Crete police arrested her, and she was expected to be moved Friday to the Will County Jail, Crete Police Chief James Paoletti said. Additional charges were expected, pending the result of toxicology reports, police said.
Paoletti described the accident and subsequent investigation as “emotionally draining” for first responders and police detectives assigned to the case.
“Everybody’s heart was hanging, and then to go and arrest her on top of what occurred, that’s tough,” Paoletti said.
The Cook County medical examiner’s office said Holly Silva died from multiple injuries, and her death was ruled an accident.
A memorial to Holly — a small wood cross bearing a red ribbon — stood on the lawn near the gravel driveway Thursday.
