A pair of teenage boys from Chicago are facing misdemeanor charges after they stole a car and then crashed into a family at an intersection, killing their six-month-old son.
The boys, ages 14 and 17, face one count of criminal trespassing over the incident, but police said those charges could be moved pending further investigation into the incident.
Police say the two boys were speeding down a western Washington road in a stolen Hyundai sedan when they tore through an intersection and crashed into a pickup truck around 5 p.m. on April 16.
In the van was baby Christian Ophidia and her family. The little girl was killed in the wreckage of the plane, while her mother and two older sisters remained in the hospital with their injuries.
The tragedy was the latest example of the criminal mayhem that has gripped Chicago in recent years under District Attorney Kim Foxx, whose office has dismissed thousands of violent felony cases since she was sworn in in 2016 and re-elected in 2020.
Six-month-old Christian Ophidia was killed when a stolen car crashed into his family’s truck
The stolen Hyundai moments before it collided with a Yovidia truck in Chicago
Christian’s family remembered that the boy was happy and full of life.
“He always had this big smile on his face, and he loved to sing and dance,” said his cousin, Annalize Rivera. WGN9.
“It was a rough few days,” she said, “It felt like ten years.” “This really is like all our nightmares.”
After the collision, neighbors rushed outside to pull Christian out of the car and attempt CPR.
“Unfortunately, he died brain dead, and then he died the next day,” Rivera said.
They stole a car, and they stole our whole life at that moment. I don’t know what the price of a car was, but I’m sure it wasn’t equivalent to the life of a child.
“Heaven has the most beautiful angel now,” she said, “and we know we’ll see him again one day.”
There were two other people riding in the car with the boys, ages 14 and 17. Their identity is unknown, and it remains unclear if they will face any charges.
Pieces of cars and pieces of wood from a tree where the cars landed during the collision
The tree a car crashed into after the fatal crash in Chicago
Total crime was up 47 percent year-over-year, with burglaries, sexual assault, and robbery all rising.
Theft rose by a remarkable 25 percent.
However, homicides and shootings decreased.
The wild events of this past weekend brought to light a complex law and order situation, when a mob of more than a hundred rowdy teens turned violent in downtown Chicago on Saturday night.
Dozens burned and smashed cars while blasting music in a “shout of teenagers” that left two gunshot wounds.
Shocking footage showed some teenagers jumping onto a bus while others started a massive brawl after they descended into Millennium Park and tried to break through barriers.
Gunshots were heard as some of the rounds hit two boys, aged 16 and 17.
The two youths were taken to a nearby hospital in fair condition. A total of 15 people, nine adults and six children, were arrested.
Police said most of the charges related to reckless conduct, but a 16-year-old boy was also charged with illegal use of a weapon, and a firearm was found. An adult and juvenile was also charged with possession of a stolen vehicle.
Cars were also vandalized near East Washington Street, including a Tesla.
Chicago District Attorney Kim Foxx’s office has dropped thousands of criminal charges
Chicago politicians, many of whom have been criticized for being nice to crime, wrote off Criminal Iniquities Night, saying it was just a few bad eggs in a sea of revelers, or even a political demonstration.
Outgoing Mayor Lori Lightfoot zeroed in on the event, telling a local reporter that she thinks calling the weekend’s scene “chaotic” is incorrect.
“The vast majority of young people who came downtown came downtown because the weather was great and it was an opportunity to enjoy the city. It’s just right, just right,” Lightfoot said, advocating for the teens.
She added, “There are a few who came with different intentions. They have and will be dealt with. But I will not use your language, which I think is wrong, to say that there is ‘anarchy’.
Brandon Johnson, 47, said Sunday that he does not “condone destructive activity” and that it is “unacceptable and has no place” in Chicago, but that it should not be used as a way to discredit the group.
“However, it is not constructive to demonize young people who would otherwise be denied opportunities in their communities,” said Johnson, a progressive Democrat.
Kim Fox: A Timeline of the Controversial Incidents
Cook County State Attorney Kim Foxx has been on the end of many controversies during her tenure.
Jussie Smollett Allegations: A classified 68-page report detailing errors and multiple instances of false statements made by Foxx and its prosecutors in the initial investigation of Smollett was released in December 2021. The special prosecutor handling the report said Foxx may have violated legal ethics but neither she nor anyone else In her office he did nothing criminal.
Criticism of Smollett’s 150-day jail sentence: Foxx claimed that Jussie Smollett’s 150-day jail sentence is “mob justice” and an example of a system failing. Writing for the Chicago Sun-Times, she called the case “a harmful, costly, and deceitful criminal trial of Jussie Smollett” and said that Smollett was guilty from the start, ignoring whether or not he had committed the crime Judge James Lane said. In judging him he amounted to “amazing hypocrisy”.
Foxx gained notoriety in 2019 when it dropped criminal charges against Jussie Smollett, the Empire actress convicted of making a racist, homophobic attack on himself in January 2019.
Donations from liberal billionaire George Soros: Soros, the largest and most prolific Democratic donor, is best known for giving to Presidents Clinton and Obama, but he has also been funneling money into a far-left effort to reform the criminal justice system by giving millions to a network of sober prosecutors in Democratic races. In 2020, Soros donated $2 million to a PAC that supported Foxx in its re-election campaign.
Chicago crime rate: In 2021, there were more murders in Chicago than in any other year since 1994. There were over 1,000 murders in Cook County, Fox County, that year. Soros furthered her re-election campaign by donating to the Illinois Commission on Justice and Public Safety.
