Articles Posted in DUI

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Henry Benjamin III, 37, was arrested for DUI and issued several citations after allegedly driving a stolen truck while under the influence. Police reports indicate that Benjamin was spotted in a 1996 Dodge pick-up truck swerving and speeding on Route 25 in Carpentersville, Illinois.

Police pulled over the truck and determined that Benjamin was intoxicated after observing the driver’s bloodshot eyes, slurred speech and odor of alcohol. According to police reports, Benjamin argued with the officers, and eventually one of the officers reached in the truck to grab him. Benjamin began driving off while dragging the officer, who was partially in the truck, for several feet. The officer let go of the truck and Benjamin sped off, starting a police chase. Benjamin, reportedly struck three marked squad cars before pulling over to flee on foot.

Two of the injured officers required treatment at a nearby hospital. Benjamin was treated and released into police custody.

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Jose Rodriguez, 21, plead guilty for driving under the influence and was sentenced to 24 months of probation.

Rodriguez was charged with aggravated DUI after he hit an off-duty FBI agent who was driving to a Labor Day half-marathon. The agent, Elizabeta Petruc, will likely have to be out of work for 12-18 months due to the injuries caused by the accident. Her left wrist, ankle and legs were broken, one knee was also badly damaged. Both cars caught fire after the accident.

Evidence showed that Rodriguez had been driving 60-70 mph when he struck Petruc’s vehicle and his blood alcohol level was nearly three times the legal limit. Rodriquez apologized through in interpreter in court. He will have to participate in an alcohol safety program and perform 100 hours of community service.

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Radio personality Harry Teinowitz was arrested on March 4th for allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol. Police were called by a witness who reported Teinowitz had swerved across all four lanes of traffic and almost struck his vehicle several times. Teinowitz was charged with improper lane usage and DUI after Breathalyzer results showed his blood alcohol content was .131 percent.

According to a Skokie police report he had fresh marijuana residue on his shirt and a strong odor of pot coming from his vehicle. When questioned about the marijuana, Teinowitz told the officer that his car was recently parked using a valet service and the driver must have smoked pot in his car. He denied having any pot. His driver’s license was taken away and he was released on a $1000 D-bond. His vehicle was impounded and is scheduled to appear in court on March 23, 2011.

Teinowitz made an announcement on his show saying he made “a horrible mistake in judgement.”

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According to Illinois State Police, Enrique Lopez, 32, was waiting on the shoulder of the I-55 Expressway for a tow truck on Thursday night when he was struck by a pickup truck. The truck, described by witnesses as a white pickup with a blue driver’s door left the scene of the accident. Lopez was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital but he could not be resuscitated according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office.

Fernando Almaraz, 40, of Chicago, was charged with aggravated DUI in the incident. A witness allegedly saw Almaraz’s pickup truck cross the sold white line on the Stevenson Expressway and strike Lopez before driving off. Police located the vehicle 15 minutes later and determined that Almaraz was under the influence of alcohol after conducting field sobriety tests. In addition, an open can of beer was found in the vehicle and Alvarez admitted consuming alcohol. Almaraz reportedly had a BAC of .161, just over twice the legal limit.

Almaraz has three prior convictions for DUI. Bail was set at $1 million.

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A Chicago man involved in a traffic accident on Route 41 in Lake Bluff was charged with felony DUI after he allegedly admitted to drinking a large amount of tequila.

Police arrived on scene after a call from a driver reporting that a car was swerving and had struck his truck. The driver of the car, Federica Padilla, allegedly smelled of alcohol. Officers found a bottle of tequila with only a third remaining as well as empty beer bottles in the car. Padilla refused a Breathalyzer test and was taken into custody.

According to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, along with felony DUI, Padilla was charged with driving without insurance, driving on a revoked license, illegal transportation of alcohol, improper lane usage, failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident, and failure to yield while merging.

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Eric T. Maschmeier, 20, was paroled a little over a year ago for a six-year prison term for a botched armed robbery attempt. According to the Illinois Department of Corrections website, he was released from prison on January 13, 2010.

On February 9th of this year, Masschmeier was arrested on DUI charges after he flipped his white Chevrolet Impala into a snowbank south of 75th Street in Naperville. After the crash, Maschmeier and a female passenger allegedly escaped the wreckage uninjured, fled on foot and called a friend to give him a ride home. Police were able to locate and arrest him after they determined he was driving under the influence.

An eye-witness estimated that Maschmeier was speeding at over 100 mph.

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Elvis Hernandez, 28, was pronounced dead last week at Weiss Memorial Hospital in Chicago after being hospitalized for over a year resulting form a hit-and-run DUI crash in west suburban Aurora. Hernandez was the passenger of a SUV being driven by his friend David Solis, 28, when the vehicle crashed into the back of a 2009 International 4400 box truck that was stopped in traffic.

Solis allegedly abandoned the SUV with his friend in the front passenger seat at an adjoining gas station and fled the scene on foot. When Aurora police arrived on scene they found Hernandez suffering from major head trauma. Paramedics took Hernandez to Rush Copley Medical Center. Solis returned to the scene 45 minutes after the accident and was arrested after witnesses identified him as the driver. Solis was charged with driving under the influence of drugs, leaving the scene of a personal injury accident, driving on a suspended license and driving without insurance.

Kane County State’s Attorney and Aurora police are working together to pursue upgraded charges against Solis since the death of Hernandez.

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Roel Valle, Lynwood Village Clerk, has been charged with reckless homicide and driving under the influence after a crash that resulted in the death of a Chicago woman.

Melika LIttle, 32, mother of four children, was killed in the crash after Valle allegedly drove his village-owned vehicle the wrong direction on Iliinois Highway 394. Valle collided with a car carrying Little. The driver of the car Little was a passenger in was also charged with DUI.

The Little family has filed a civil suit against the village of Lynwood and Valle. Valle is also facing two felony charges and could be sentenced up to 19 years in prison.

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Cecil R. Conner Jr., 22, is charged with the several counts of aggravated drunk driving for a crash that killed his girlfriend’s 5-year-old son. However, his defense attorney is blaming the Chicago Heights police officer who gave him the keys to the car and allowed him to drive to the police station. En-route to the police station, Conner drove off the road and crashed into a tree.

Prior to the crash, the boys mother Kathie Lafond, was pulled over and taken into custody for driving on a suspended license. The police stated Conner appeared to be sober and that LaFond gave her boyfriend permission to take the car with the child strapped into the booster seat. Conner’s attorney stated that his client was “obviously drunk” but was still ordered to take the car and that the officer threatened to arrest his client if he didn’t leave.

Conner was allegedly driving 75 mph in a 35 mph zone and had a blood alcohol level twice the legal limit.

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A 16-year-old from Naperville was charged with Driving Under the Influence of Drugs, failure to yield to oncoming traffic to avoid and accident, operating an unsafe motor vehicle, and several graduated driver’s license violations.

A 15-year-old boy from Lisle had to be airlifted to Children’s Memorial Hospital after the accident and was listed in critical condition. The victim was one of two passengers in the vehicle as it attempted to make a left turn into a Mobil service station.

The driver was treated, and taken into custody, by Naperville police. The driver and passenger of the other vehicle were treated at the scene and released.

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