Sheriff’s Police say a Mokena man and New Lenox man riding in a van west of New Lenox last weekend were seriously injured when the allegedly intoxicated driver lost control of the vehicle.

Sheriff’s Police said Eric J. Larson, 22, of the 500 block of Stafford Drive in New Lenox, drove into a ditch at the intersection of Illinois Route 52 and Delaney Road on March 6, caromed off of a culvert, then flew 57 feet into the air before returning to the ground and slamming into a tree.

Sheriff’s Police said the impact broke the 23-year-old Mokena passenger’s back, as well as one ankle, and punctured a lung. The 22-year-old New Lenox passenger sustained a severe eye injury and a possibly broken leg. Larson sustained only non life threatening injuries.

The three were treated at Silver Cross Hospital.

Larson is charged with driving under the influence with a blood-alcohol concentration above the legal limit, failure to reduce speed to avoid a collision and operating an uninsured motor vehicle.