COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — A man was ordered held on a $500,000 bail after prosecutors said he was driving drunk when he ran a stop sign and fatally struck a 2-year-old girl Friday morning.
Kellen Bledsoe, of the 5700 block of South Aberdeen Avenue, has been charged with reckless homicide and aggravated driving under the influence resulting in death in addition to a number of other traffic-related charges in the death of Jamya Love, 2.
Bledsoe's blood alcohol level was .252, more than three times the legal limit of .008, Assistant State's Attorney Amanda Pillsbury said at his court hearing Sunday.
Cook County Judge Donald Panarese Jr. ordered him held on a $500,000 bail.
A 57-year-old woman was holding the hand of Jamya, her 2-year-old great granddaughter, and pushing the stroller of Jamya's 1-year-old brother when Bledsoe allegedly ran a stop sign in 5700 block of South Morgan Street at 6:23 a.m. Friday, according to police and prosecutors.
The woman tried to move the children out of the path of Bledsoe's 1999 Chrysler Concord but it struck the girl, as well as construction horses and two parked cars, police said.
Jamya was taken to Comer Children's Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 7:09 a.m. Friday. She lived in the 5700 block of South Peoria Street in Englewood, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office.
The great-grandmother was sent to Stroger Hospital, though her condition is unknown.
