The Berwyn man charged in connection with the fatal Tri-State Tollway collision sped toward the three tollway workers in the roadway, traveling 83 mph just seconds before the deadly collision, prosecutors alleged.
Paul Ong, 37, faces one count of aggravated driving under the influence involving death. At a detention hearing Thursday, a Cook County judge ordered Ong held while awaiting trial, court records show.
Tollway worker killed, 2 others injured in Tri-State Tollway crash
Before Judge Anthony Calabrese at Skokie Courthouse, prosecutors alleged Ong was driving over 80 mph with a blood alcohol content more than twice the legal limit when he struck the three workers early Saturday morning as they made pothole repairs on the Tri-State Tollway near Des Plaines.
At around 4:15 a.m., the workers learned of a pothole located in the southbound lanes of Interstate 294 near milepost 41.5. As they tended to the pothole, all three workers donned their bright yellow and orange reflective gear, and at least one worker wore a headlamp, prosecutors stated. The workers waited for traffic to die down, then walked out to assess the pothole, which was located in the third lane of the six-lane roadway.
While the workers conducted their assessment, they observed Ong’s vehicle change lanes and accelerate directly towards them, prosecutors alleged. One of the workers tried to use his headlamp light to redirect Ong but was unsuccessful. Swerving again, Ong ultimately struck one of the workers, causing him to fly through the air and land a distance away from the crash, prosecutors said.
The workers were taken to an area hospital, where one of them died, authorities said. The Cook County medical examiner’s office identified the deceased worker as Calvin L. Holley, 52, of the city’s Dunning neighborhood.
Holley’s death, through an autopsy on Sunday, was ruled an accident caused by multiple injuries from a motor vehicle striking a pedestrian. State police on Wednesday said the other two workers sustained non-life-threatening injuries but did not provide an update on their conditions.
State police kept all southbound tollway lanes closed for more than five hours while they conducted their investigation.
Ong, who was the only person in the vehicle, remained on scene. After speaking with Ong, responding officers noted he had bloodshot and glassy eyes and his breath smelled of alcohol, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said Ong declined to submit to a preliminary breath test, but authorities, through a search warrant, determined his blood alcohol content was around 0.161% at the time of the crash — double Illinois’ legal limit of 0.08%.
Crash report data revealed that three seconds before the crash, Ong was traveling at 83 mph. Five seconds before the crash, he was going 93, prosecutors said.
Ong has a separate felony case for aggravated unlawful possession of a weapon pending against him dating back to a July 2025 arrest, court records show. After he was charged in the fatal tollway crash this week, prosecutors filed a petition to revoke his pretrial release on the gun charge.
In the wake of the fatal crash, Gov. JB Pritzker mourned the injured workers on social media and reminded drivers to slow down.
“Heartbreaking news this morning as three tollway workers were struck in Des Plaines while working,” Pritzker wrote on X over the weekend. “May their memory be a blessing, and may we come together to pray for the injured. Remember to slow down and keep our workers safe.”
Ong’s next court date in the aggravated DUI case is scheduled for June 30.