Joliet Motorist Who Caused Huge Wreck On Broadway Street, Injuring Several, Faces Felony Charges: JPD

JOLIET, IL — The Joliet Police Department has moved forward with felony charges against 31-year-old Joliet motorist William Wyatt Hutchinson in connection with a late January crash along the busy Broadway Street.

Last Friday's arrest warrant, signed by Will County Judge Art Smigielski, includes two charges of aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol plus one count of reckless conduct. Joliet's police officers located Wyatt on Wednesday, April Fool's Day, and booked him into the Will County Jail.

According to the Joliet Police Department, on January 28, at 6:51 p.m., officers responded to North Broadway Street and Ingalls Avenue for a multi-vehicle crash with injuries.

The Honda CR-V driven by the 31-year-old Hutchinson was traveling northbound on North Broadway Street near Ingalls
Avenue when the vehicle lost control and crossed into oncoming southbound traffic. The Honda CR-V struck a Honda HR-V driven by a 23-year-old Plainfield resident head-on, then continued to strike two additional southbound vehicles, a Ford Focus driven by a 17-year-old Addison resident and an Audi e-tron driven by a 66-year-old Naperville resident.

The Honda CR-V ultimately left the roadway and came to rest in the 1200 block of North Broadway Street. Hutchinson — the driver of the Honda CR-V — was transported to St. Joseph Medical Center by the Joliet Fire Department with serious injuries.

The driver of the Honda HR-V was also transported to St.
Joseph Medical Center by the Joliet Fire Department with non-life-threatening injuries. The driver of the Ford Focus was extricated from his vehicle by the Joliet Fire Department and
airlifted to Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove with life-threatening injuries. The driver of the Audi e-tron declined medical treatment at the scene.

"Investigators determined that Hutchinson was impaired by alcohol at the time of the crash, which resulted in injuries to himself and two other drivers," Joliet police spokesman Dwayne English informed Joliet Patch on Thursday following Hutchinson's capture. "The investigation also revealed that Hutchinson had been involved in a separate crash at North
Broadway Street and Ruby Street shortly before the collision at North Broadway and Ingalls Avenue. No injuries were reported in the initial crash."

According to the criminal complaint, Hutchinson drove a Honda CR-V on Broadway Street at a time when he was involved in a crash that resulted in great bodily harm or permanent disability to another man and Hutchinson's blood alcohol concentration was 0.08 or more "and said violation was a proximate cause of the injuries."

As for the reckless conduct charge, the complaint indicates that Hutchinson endangered the safety of multiple people and the court documents listed the names of three additional victims, indicating "he drove a Honda CR-V on Broadway Street in Joliet while under the influence of alcohol."

His Will County Jail booking logs from Wednesday put him in the 1300 block of Joliet's Waverly Place.