Man facing charges following crash that killed five-year-old

KENOSHA (WITI) --  29-year-old Marcus Thornton of Kenosha is facing charges following a traffic accident that resulted in the death of a five-year-old boy Tuesday evening, October 8th. The boy has been identified as Bailey McCollum.

The crash occurred as McCollum and his sister were leaving a nearby park, taking pictures on the playground, and it occurred right in front of the little boy's school.

The two-vehicle rollover crash occurred at 12th Street and 72nd Avenue in the Town of Somers around 6:00 p.m. Tuesday.

Officials say Thornton was traveling north on 72nd Ave. when he disregarded a stop sign and struck a van traveling east on 12th Street.

Thornton’s vehicle struck the vehicle McCollum was traveling in on the driver’s side toward the back.  McCollum’s vehicle spun and rolled over twice.

Thornton appeared to be intoxicated.

Kenosha County Sheriff David Beth dropped his own son off at home after soccer practice, and raced to the scene Tuesday night.

"The worst, and as a father, the worst thing you could ever go to. It is so hard. The firemen were there, there were tears. They didn't want to leave. The deputies were all emotional about the entire event," Sheriff Beth said.

Thornton is under bond conditions from a previous operating while intoxicated case and his driver’s license is revoked.

He is being charged with:

Thornton received citations for:

Thornton remains at the hospital under guard and will be booked into the Kenosha County Jail upon release from the hospital.

Meanwhile, Kenosha County Sheriff's officials are looking into buying equipment to prevent drunks from driving -- like a breathalyzer that takes a picture of the person blowing into the device and transmits it to authorities.

"I would hope he would not be able to put anyone else's life at risk for a very, very long time. If it were up to me he'd never be able to do that again. He's lost that privilege or opportunity to hurt others," Sheriff Beth said.