Balconies collapse after SUV crashes into Edgewater building; 3 hurt, 1 critcally

A vehicle crashed into a building and caused a balcony to collapse in Edgewater Tuesday morning.

The vehicle hit the building shortly after 8 a.m. on Broadway near Hollywood, according to preliminary information from Chicago police.

The driver, a 43-year-old woman, and her passenger, a 15-year-old girl, were both taken to Saint Francis Hospital in Evanston, where the woman was listed in critical condition and the girl’s condition was stabilized, according to Chicago police and Fire Media Affairs spokesman Larry Merritt.

The woman was issued two citations for negligent driving and failing to carry or display her license, police said. Alcohol is not believed to have been a factor in the crash.

No one inside the building was injured, Merritt said.

The driver of another vehicle, a 51-year-old man, was also stabilized at Saint Francis, while a 53-year-old man who was driving a third vehicle refused medical treatment at the scene, police said.

The building consists of two businesses at the bottom with three floors of condos above. The front balconies collapsed from the residential units above Pop Hair Salon, 5642 N. Broadway.

A silver SUV with extensive damage could be seen on the sidewalk and a black four-door Hyundai with rear-end damage was stopped in the southbound lanes of Broadway.

A man who lives on the top floor of the building said the crash woke him up and that it felt like an earthquake. He said he looked down from his window and saw firefighters removing the door from the SUV to reach the driver.

Dan Luna, chief of staff for Ald. Harry Osterman (48th), said Osterman was aware of the crash and in contact with the city’s buildings department.

The CTA’s No. 36 Broadway bus was being rerouted via Hollywood, Sheridan and Bryn Mawr as authorities investigated, according to the transit agency.

Luke Wilusz is a reporter for the Sun-Times Media Wire. Linze Rice is a freelancer.