Bail set, charges upgraded vs. driver in fatal crash

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Walter Thompson | Photo courtesy of the Chicago police

Updated: March 24, 2012 8:58AM

Bail was set Wednesday at $400,000 for a Blue Island man charged with drunken driving in a chain-reaction crash Monday that killed a Riverdale man.

Walter Thompson, 30, tried to run away from the crash scene after the 2006 Hyundai Santa Fe he was driving crashed about 3 p.m. in the 1400 block of West 115th Street in Chicago, according to police. They said he was later arrested at 118th Street and Ashland Avenue and taken to MetroSouth Medical Center in Blue Island.

Also Wednesday, Thompson, of the 12900 block of Page Court, had charges against him upgraded to aggravated DUI involving a fatal accident and causing bodily harm, police said.

He was also charged previously with driving on a revoked license, leaving the scene of an accident and damaging city property, according to police.

Charles Kimbrough, 45, was killed and four others were hurt during the chain-reaction crash that sent five vehicles careening into each other and nearby pedestrians, police said. They said Thompson was driving westbound on 118th Street at a high speed when he struck a 1997 Ford Aerostar minivan, which then struck a 2002 Pontiac Bonneville.

The Santa Fe became wedged between two other vehicles — a Chicago Transit Authority bus and a beer truck being unloaded by Kimbrough, who was pinned between the bus and the truck, police said.

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