Man charged in DUI crash that killed brother

A Brighton Park man was ordered held in lieu of $100,000 bail Friday for a DUI accident that claimed the life of his older brother earlier this week.

Pedro Moreno, 25, admitted he had smoked marijuana when he was questioned by authorities about Wednesday’s accident on the Stevenson Expressway near Loomis Street, Cook County prosecutors said.

Killed in the crash was Moreno’s 28-year-old brother, Enrique, who was riding in the front seat of the 1997 Ford Expedition being driven by the younger Moreno.

The siblings lived in the family’s two-flat in the 4500 block of South Troy Street. Both wore seatbelts; they were on their way to work at the time of the early morning wreck, Assistant Public Defender Susan Smith said.

Pedro Moreno was driving without a valid driver’s license when he struck a parked Dodge Ram with three people inside near an exit ramp at 5:35 a.m., Assistant State’s Attorney Akash Vyas said.

Both vehicles spun around as a result and the Morenos’ SUV went on to strike a Honda Civic with one person inside, Vyas said.

Pedro Moreno was able to get out of the vehicle, but his brother was pinned inside and had to be extricated by emergency workers, Vyas said.

Enrique Moreno was transported to Mercy Hospital and Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.

Pedro Moreno was taken to Stroger Hospital where he tested positive for THC, one of the psychoactive elements of cannabis, authorities said. No details about when Pedro Moreno said he had smoked pot were given in court.

The three people in the Dodge Ram identified Pedro Moreno as the driver of the Ford Expedition, and he admitted he had been behind the wheel of his SUV, Vyas said.

Pedro Moreno, a married father of three, does factory work and had hoped to attend his brother’s funeral in a few days, Smith told Judge Laura Sullivan, asking unsuccessfully for $10,000 bail.