Man charged with DUI in Tri-State crash that killed Illinois Tollway worker, injured 2 others

A Berwyn man has been charged with driving under the influence in a crash that killed an Illinois Tollway worker and injured two others over the weekend on the Tri-State Tollway.Paul Ong, 37, has been charged with one count of aggravated DUI involving death.Illinois State Police said, around 4:30 a.m. on Saturday, three Illinois Tollway workers were making pothole repairs in the southbound lanes of I-294 near Devon Avenue in Des Plaines, when an SUV hit them.All three workers were taken to hospitals. One of them, 52-year-old Calvin Holley, was later pronounced dead.Police said Ong remained at the scene after hitting the tollway workers and was taken into custody. On Tuesday, Cook County prosecutors approved one felony count of aggravated DUI against Ong.At his first court appearance on Wednesday, prosecutors said they would seek to have him detained while he awaits trial, according to Cook County Circuit Court records. Ong's attorney is seeking to have him released on electronic monitoring, as well as a SCRAM alcohol monitoring device, and is proposing he not be allowed to drive while on pretrial release, court records show.A detention hearing has been scheduled for Thursday at the Skokie Courthouse, and Ong will remain in custody until then.Officials confirmed Holley was an equipment operator and laborer who had worked with the Illinois Tollway for the past two years. "The Illinois Tollway Board and all Tollway staff are devastated by the loss of one of our Illinois Tollway roadway maintenance workers," officials said in a written statement," Tollway officials said in a written statement. "Roadway workers, police officers and everyday motorists are too often hurt, injured or worse because drivers are not following the Move Over Law. The Tollway reminds everyone to slow down and change lanes safely when approaching any vehicle with flashing lights on the road." They're referring to Scott's Law—requiring drivers to move over one lane -or- slow down when passing a car that's stopped on the side of the road with flashing lights. According to the Emergency Responder Safety Institute, despite the law, 31 emergency responders were hit and killed on the side of the road last year. Forty-six were killed the year prior.Illinois State Police have reported nine Scott's Law crashes so far on Illinois highways in 2026.