A Chicago man is accused of driving under the influence when he struck and killed a Marine veteran who was changing a tire on Interstate 55 on Sunday.
Octavio Lara Chavez, 40, is charged with aggravated driving under the influence involving death and great bodily harm in the crash that happened about 6:40 p.m. on the right shoulder of the southbound lanes on I-55 near Cicero Avenue in Garfield Ridge.
Nikolas Hutto, 28, was driving with friends when his Hyundai Sonata hit a pothole and got a flat tire. Hutto and his friends got out of the car to change the front passenger-side tire when Lara Chavez drove his pickup truck into the shoulder, hitting the car, Hutto and a friend. Hutto died on impact.
Hutto’s friend, a 28-year-old man, suffered a broken leg and was treated at Stroger Hospital, according to an arrest report.
Lara Chavez was hospitalized with injuries not considered to be life-threatening. His blood-alcohol level was .162%, more than twice the legal limit, when he was tested an hour and a half after the crash, the arrest report said.
Hutto had moved from Tampa, Florida, to Tinley Park in November after buying a home with his girlfriend.
He joined the Marines in 2015 upon graduating high school and served several months in the Middle East. In 2020, he was honorably discharged with the rank of sergeant. Three of his five younger siblings also went on to serve in the military.
“He has five younger brothers and sisters that looked up to him,” his mother, Tammy Hutto, said. “Nik was the man. If they had questions, he was who they asked. Everyone that met Nik loved him.”
A judge ordered Lara Chavez detained Wednesday as he awaits trial. His next court date is April 30.
