Two teenagers waiting to cross the street in Oswego were struck and injured Saturday afternoon when a car ran a red light, collided with another vehicle, and slid off the roadway into the corner where they stood. The crash happened around 12:51 p.m. at the intersection of Route 34 and Heritage Drive, one of the village's busiest commercial corridors.
According to the Village of Oswego, an eastbound Infiniti Q50 ran the red light at the intersection and was struck by a left-turning Ford Explorer. The impact sent the Infiniti sliding sideways into two juveniles standing on the sidewalk before it struck a traffic signal pole. A third juvenile who was also on the sidewalk was evaluated at the scene but declined medical care, police said.
Police identified the Infiniti's driver as 18-year-old Brayden Faltz of Oswego, who was cited for disobeying a traffic signal and failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident. The Ford Explorer's driver was identified as 31-year-old Montel Johnson, also of Oswego, who was cited for driving with a suspended registration and operating an uninsured vehicle, per the village's account. NBC 5 Chicago reports that one injured juvenile was transferred to Loyola Medical Center, while a second juvenile was taken to an area hospital in stabilized condition; no immediate update was available for the first juvenile's condition.
State Investigators Called In To Reconstruct The Crash
The Oswego Police Department requested help from the Illinois State Police, which is deploying a specialized crash reconstruction team to examine the scene, according to the village. Police said the investigation remains open and pending further reconstruction results, and additional citations or charges could potentially follow once that work is complete.
The citations issued at the scene carry real legal weight under Illinois law. Operating a vehicle with a suspended registration is a Class A misdemeanor under 625 ILCS 5/6-303, punishable by up to 364 days in jail and fines as high as $2,500, according to O'Meara Law. Separately, driving without insurance under 625 ILCS 5/3-707 carries a mandatory conviction fine of $500 to $1,000 along with a three-month license suspension and a $100 reinstatement fee, per Illinois Legal Aid Online.
A Corridor With A Troubled History
The intersection of Route 34 and Heritage Drive has seen serious crashes before, including an October 2018 hit-and-run that left a 21-year-old injured and hospitalized, according to Shaw Local. The stretch of Route 34 running through Oswego has repeatedly proven dangerous for pedestrians and cyclists in recent years. Just two days before this crash, Oswego police arrested a Chicago driver accused of striking a 15-year-old bicyclist on Route 31 and fleeing before deputies tracked her down; that teen required hospital transport.
The corridor's history includes tragedy as well. In November 2024, a 49-year-old local restaurateur died from head trauma after being hit by a vehicle driven by a 17-year-old while crossing an access road near Meijer along Route 34, a case Hoodline covered in its report on the community's mourning for Matthew Verde. Then in July 2025, a car plowed into a Portillo's restaurant along Route 34, killing a 2-year-old toddler and injuring 14 other people, an incident police later determined was accidental after the driver mistook the gas pedal for the brake.
Officials Have Invested In Safety Upgrades
The Village of Oswego and the Illinois Department of Transportation have carried out multiple multi-million dollar pedestrian safety and traffic signal synchronization projects along Route 34 in recent years, aiming to address the mix of pedestrian foot traffic and heavy commercial vehicle volume that defines the corridor. Those projects have included camera-monitored signals and synchronized crossing controls, according to the village. Even with those upgrades, Saturday's crash adds another entry to a stretch of roadway that has repeatedly tested the limits of that infrastructure.
