Articles Posted in DUI

Elisha Clark, 25, of Grayslake was pronounced dead at the scene after a high speed DUI related crash.

Donald Mischke, 54, was fleeing police after allegedly breaking into a Target store and stealing a flat screen television set. Mischke allegedly used his vehicle to ram the front door of the Target store just enough to break in. The officer who spotted Mischke loading the television into his car tried to stop his car near the store but the defendant drove off at a high rate of speed. The officer stopped her persuit when the defendant turned onto a road with heavy traffic. Mischke allegedly ran a red light at Belvidere Road in Waukegan, striking the driver side of Clark’s vehicle.

Mischke was charged with driving under the influence of drugs after his blood tested positive for cocaine. Mischke previously lost his driver’s license after a 1994 DUI conviction and he has been convicted of driving on a revoked license three times.

Scott Rossow of Palos Hills was convicted on November 29, 2010 of Aggravated DUI in connection with a one-car collision that killed his two passengers in 2006.

Rossow was allegedly driving in excess of 100 mph on St Francis Road when he left the roadway and hit a tree in the early morning hours of December 8, 2006. Rossow and his two passengers were ejected from the vehicle. Passengers Christopher C. Sommers, a longtime friend and petty officer third class in the U.S. Coast Guard, and Rossow’s step brother, Davis Sauseda, died at the scene.

Rossow’s defense attorney attempted to argue that Rossow was not driving the car. Evidence from a highly technical reconstruction report was used to prove who was responsible for the crash.

Luis Benito, 17, has been charged with four counts of aggravated DUI and reckless homicide and could face up to 14 years each on the two most serious counts against him. Judge Marzell Richardson set his bond at $1 million dollars.

Benito had allegedly been drinking at a nightclub, Rancho Santa Fe. Shortly before the crash, Benito was seen doing “donuts” in the Bolingbrook nightclub’s parking lot. After a bouncer from Rancho Santa Fe pointed his flashlight at Benito, the teen allegedly drove the 2002 Chevy Blazer directly at him, forcing him to dodge the vehicle.

At around 2:30 a.m., Benito and another passenger headed home, deciding to park between two apartment buildings because the main parking lots were full. However, the SUV allegedly sped through a garden-level apartment window fatally crushing Josephina Prospero. Prospero, 46, who was asleep in her bed was pronounced dead at the scene. Benito’s mother and Prospero worked together at a local hotel and were friends.

Jeremiah Thompson, 36, has been charged with DUI and other violations for a hit-and-run that resulted in the death of a 35-year old woman.

Yasha Hicks was allegedly struck and killed as she walked near 73rd and South Racine. Thompson reportedly took off after the accident and left Hicks in the roadway. Hicks was pronounced dead at Christ Advocate Medical Center in Oak Lawn.

Police later caught up with Thompson charged him with Aggravated DUI-accident resulting in death, DUI with a blood alcohol content above 0.08, failure to reduce speed, improper lane usage, failure to take due care with pedestrian in roadway, and operating a vehicle without insurance.

22-year-old, Doreen Cardenas, and a 22-year-old man she was with were rushed to the hospital after being struck by a car in an early morning hit and run in North Aurora. Cardenas was pronounced dead at Provena-Mercy Hospital at 2:35 a.m. The man remained hospitalized but his condition was not made available.

The couple were standing outside the driver’s side of Cardena’s parked 1997 Chevrolet Cavalier when a vehicle allegedly side-swiped the car and struck them. A bystander found the two victims lying in the street at 42 S Grant Street.

At approximately 5 a.m., Lee Roy Patterson, a 30-year-old Aurora man, walked into the Aurora Police department and turned himself in. Patterson has been charged with leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident involving a death, an additional count of leaving the scene where a person was injured, and failing to reduce speed to avoid an accident. Patterson faces a Class 1 felony which is punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

Wade Miquelon, Chief Financial Officer for Walgreen Co., appeared in Skokie courthouse to face drunken driving charges after his second DUI in just over a year.

Miquelon was pulled over September 25 just after 10 p.m. for having a taillight out. He was allegedly driving on a suspended license. Miquelon was arrested after allegedly failing a field sobriety test and refusing a Breathalyzer test. He was later released on a $3000 bond.

Miquelon lost his license for a year after refusing a Breathalyzer test during his first 2009 DUI arrest. This suspension is also known as a statutory summary suspension. It is possible that his license will be suspended for as long as three years for refusing the Breathalyzer on this current case.

Officer Troy Fields is being credited with the arrest of an allegedly dangerously drunk and unlicensed driver.

The officer, who was driving south bound on First Avenue near Cermak Road last Saturday, spotted a car ahead of him “driving all over the road and into oncoming traffic.” Fields flashed his headlights at the oncoming traffic to warn other drivers and called 911. He then stayed with the car until police caught up with it.

Pawel Karpie, 24, was then pulled and given field sobriety tests which he allegedly failed. He was also found to never have been issued an Illinois driver’s license and driving without insurance. Breathalyzer test also showed his blood alcohol level to be more than twice the legal limit at .174.

Reginald Hearon, 50, could find himself serving up to 14 years in prison after pleading guilty to felony DUI and reckless homicide charges stemming from the deadly Kane County crash in 2008.

Hearon driving work at the Illinois Youth Center in St. Charles on the day of the crash when his van slammed head-on into an on-coming car as he allegedly tried to pass several vehicles on a two-lane highway. Craig Smith, 53, from St. Charles was killed in the collision.

A crash reconstruction concluded that Hearon was going at least 10mph over the speed limit and blood test taken after the crash found that he had alcohol, morphine and codeine in his system.

David A. Lobb, 31, of the 1900 block of North Rose Street plead guilty to driving drunk after he flipped his SUV and hit another vehicle, seriously injuring the other driver.

The crashed occurred on November 3, 2005 at Randall Road and McHenry Avenue.

Lobb is charged with a Class 4 felony which is punishable by a sentence ranging from probation to 12 years in prison. His sentencing is scheduled for November 19.

Jose Rodriguez, 20, of 5902 Roosevelt Road in Chicago has been charged with two counts of felony aggravated driving under the influence following an accident involving two injuries in River Grove.

Rodriguez allegedly ran head-on into oncoming traffic near O’conner Drive and Thatcher Ave when his vehicle crashed into another vehicle going southbound.

The victim received serious bodily injuries and multiple fractures, she was treated in the hospital for three days before being sent home and is still receiving treatment. Rodriguez was also seriously injured and remains in the hospital.