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Man charged with DUI in drowning of children
« on: Sep 4th, 2003, 6:01pm » |
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http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/Midwest/09/04/children.drown.ap/index.html
Thursday, September 4, 2003 Posted: 10:50 AM EDT (1450 GMT)
CLINTON, Illinois (AP) -- A man who was behind the wheel when a car went into a lake, killing three children strapped inside, has been charged with driving under the influence of drugs, authorities said.
Maurice Lagrone Jr., 28, also is charged with driving with a suspended license, DeWitt County State's Attorney Jerry Johnson said.
Lagrone and his girlfriend, Amanda Hamm, 28, escaped the car after it went off a boat ramp Tuesday evening, but Hamm's three children were trapped inside, DeWitt County Sheriff Roger Massey said.
Hamm called 911 from a pay phone and emergency workers were at the scene in about five minutes, but Christopher Hamm, 6, and Austin Brown, 3, were pronounced dead at a local hospital. Kyleigh Hamm, 23 months, was flown to a hospital in Peoria but died Wednesday.
Residents in the town of about 7,500 people grieved Wednesday at the restaurant where Hamm worked.
"We have a small community here dealing with some big tragedy," Massey said. Clinton is about 50 miles southeast of Peoria.
Authorities said a special prosecutor will be assigned because Hamm's mother works for the state's attorney.
"It's obvious that I'm not going to be able to handle this case," Johnson said Thursday.
The school where Christopher was a first-grader and Austin attended early childhood classes offered counseling to students.
The children were frequent visitors to the restaurant where Hamm worked, and customers and staff members spent Wednesday talking about the accident. Hamm's co-workers said they would solicit donations to help the family with expenses.
Restaurant manager Brenda Fouts said it was difficult reporting to work. "I'm doing OK, if you consider crying in spurts to be OK," she told The (Bloomington) Pantagraph.
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