Articles Posted in DUI

The city reached a $6.25 million settlement with a pedestrian injured by Dwight Washington, a Chicago Streets and Sanitation worker, who drove his city vehicle into a crowd in May 2011. Washington was employed by the city of Chicago to collect debris and empty garbage cans at the time of the incident. His city truck reportedly jumped the curb in the Viagra Triangle area and ran into a crowd of pedestrians, resulting in injuries to seven individuals. Richard Chang suffered the most severe injuries including brain damage, requiring him to relearn to walk and talk.

Police found a bottle of brandy in the seat of the vehicle. Tests revealed a BAC over twice the legal limit. Washington was charged with felony aggravated DUI, transportation of alcohol and failure to reduce speed. Questions inevitably arose as to why his supervisors allowed him to get behind the wheel. Additional lawsuits are pending against Washington and the city.

Pedestrian Struck By Drunk Chicago Streets And San Worker Receives $6.25 Million Settlement From City, www.chicagoist.com, December 10, 2012

Former Chicago police detective, Joseph Frugoli, was sentenced to 8 years in prison for a fatal DUI crash on the Dan Ryan Expressway in 2009. Frugoli is blamed for the deaths of Andrew Cazares, 23, and Fausto Manzera, 21, a student at Depaul.

In the early morning hours of April 10, 2009, Frugoli reportedly crashed into the back of the victims’ vehicle while it was disabled on the expressway. The two men were trapped inside the vehicle when it was consumed by fire. Frugoli was helped out of his vehicle by a passerby and was then seen limping away from the wreck down an off-ramp. He was apprehended a short time later according to prosecutors. Frugoli’s BAC was over three times the legal limit of .08.

Frugoli pleaded guilty to aggravated DUI but denied intentionally leaving the scene. He was found guilty of that charge by a Cook County judge. His attorneys requested that he be placed in protective custody during his sentence. The victims’ families were upset and outraged by the length of jail time imposed.

Luis P. Pena, 30, of Chicago is charged with aggravated DUI and leaving the scene of an accident involving injury after a fatal crash on Saturday around 2 a.m.. Reginald Destin, 42, died after being struck while skateboarding with two friends on North Milwaukee Ave in the Bucktown neighborhood. Destin was well-known “pillar in the Chicago skateboarding community” and entrepreneur.

After the crash, Destin was left in critical condition. He was put in a medically induced coma after being transported to the hospital and later died. Friends across the county raised about $29,000 as part of a fundraising drive on behalf of Destin’s family to help with funeral costs.

Pena reportedly fled the scene but was apprehended soon after. He allegedly had a BAC of .18. Pena is currently being held without bail because prosecutors claim he is alleged to have violated a previous bond on a DUI charge. After Destin’s death, a spokeswoman for the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office said that charges may be upgraded. In addition to aggravated DUI, Pena also faces charges for reckless driving, driving without a driver’s license, and operating a vehicle without insurance.

According to Lake County prosecutors, DUI charges were dropped against Joseph Cardinale, 43, of Chicago, who was involved in a fatal crash in Long Grove this past September. Cardinale’s SUV collided with a motorcycle driven by Anthony Brust, 21. Brust did not survive the blunt force trauma he sustained to his head. Cardinale was not injured in the collision.

Laboratory results reportedly show that Cardinale was not impaired by drugs or alcohol at the time of the crash. As a result, the misdemeanor DUI charges were dropped by the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office. He still faces a petty traffic citation for failure to yield right of way.

DUI charges dropped against Chicago man involved in Long Grove fatal motorcycle crash, www.dailyherald.com, October 17, 2012

Marquis Harris, 18, pled guilty to first-degree murder in the DUI-related death of Marciea Adkins. Harris was sentenced on Friday to 25 years in prison for killing Adkins, 42, a Chicago police dispatcher.

According to police, Harrison left a party around 6 a.m. on July 10, 2011 when he reportedly observed a driver leave a Range Rover idling while paying a parking meter on West North Avenue. Prosecutors say that while high on ecstasy, marijuana and vodka, Harrison jumped into the vehicle and took off. A police officer pulled Harrison over after seeing the vehicle run a red light, but the driver allegedly backed into the officer’s squad car almost striking two officers before driving away.

Harrison allegedly tried to evade officers through Bucktown before running a stop sign and striking Adkins’ vehicle. He reportedly ran from the crash but was arrested a few blocks from the scene. Adkins was on her way home from her overnight shift as a Chicago police dispatcher.

Matthew Dyer, 20, of Frankfort, was tased by a Tinley Park Police officer after a DUI arrest where he reportedly attempted to get out of his handcuffs and kick the arresting officers. On September 26, Dyer’s vehicle ran off the road and hit a light pole at the Harlem Avenue exit ramp of eastbound I-80. The Tinley Park Police, Fire Department, Illinois State Police all responded to the accident. Dyer refused medical treatment and after conducting a DUI investigation, he was placed under arrest by the state troopers who decided to transport Dyer to the Tinley Park Police Department.

According to the police report, during the transport, the state trooper pulled into a gas station because Dyer “had manipulated his handcuffs from the rear of his body to the front” and posed a safety risk. Dyer then began hitting the patrol car’s plexiglass divider and threatened the trooper. Once removed from the vehicle, officers attempted to re-secure the handcuffs but Dyer allegedly began kicking the troopers. At that point, a Tinley Park officer reportedly tased Dyer in the lower back.

Dyer was eventually booked into Will County Jail before being released on a $5,000 bond. He is charged with driving under the influence, driving with a suspended license, failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident, resisting a peace officer, and possession of less than 2.5 grams of marijuana. The possession charge was later dropped.

Anthony Cechini, 23, of Round Lake is charged with felony DUI in a fatal Fox Lake crash. At approximately 4 p.m. on Saturday, Cechini was allegedly driving in a Subaru when it left the road and hit a tree. David Letchinger, Jr., 21, of McHenry, the front passenger, was ejected from the vehicle. He was airlifted to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville where he was later pronounced dead due to severe head trauma. A second unnamed passenger remains at the same hospital with injuries, although reportedly not life-threatening.

Cechini appeared in bond court on crutches with a broken wrist. It was stated that Cechini allegedly fled the scene after the crash but was detained almost immediately after. He is charged with aggravated DUI involving death and aggravated DUI involving great bodily harm. Cechini is now being held on a $500,000 bond and due back in court on Thursday for preliminary hearing.

Round Lake man charged in Fox Lake crash that killed passenger, www.dailyherald.com, October 1, 2012

Luis Romo, 18, was charged with driving under the influence after a crash that took place early Sunday morning in Elgin. According to police, Romo ran a stop sign and hit a SUV carrying three men around 1 a.m. Romo’s pickup truck reportedly pushed the SUV into a parked car. The crash had such force that the floor fell from the chassis. Romo’s truck ran up on the sidewalk and took out about 100 feet of chain-link fencing. The fence poles went through the truck’s hood, windshield, engine compartment and the floor of the vehicle. The jaws of life were used to remove all four people from their vehicles. Romo as well as the three occupants of the SUV were taken to nearby hospitals. Although severe, none of the injuries were reportedly life threatening.

Romo was charged with two felony counts of DUI, operating an unisured motor vehicle while causing bodily harm and with a stop sign violation. According to police, Romo had a BAC of 0.17, which is more than twice the legal limit.

3 hurt, 1 charged with DUI in Elgin crash, www.chicagotribune.com, September 24, 2012