Drunk driver traveling reported 90 miles per hour causes rollover crash.
On Wednesday, May 17, 2017 at 10:25 p.m., the Riverside Police Department received multiple 911 phone calls reporting a rollover crash southbound First Avenue just south of Ridgewood Road which is adjacent to Riverside Brookfield High School.
When the first officer arrived, he found a blue 2000 Ford Explorer had rolled over onto its side just south of Ridgewood Road. He also observed a 2016 black Kia in the middle of the roadway with major front-end damage. The driver of that vehicle had been ejected and was laying adjacent to his vehicle. Additionally, the vehicle that had rolled over had a female trapped inside. Riverside Police immediately summoned fire and paramedic personnel requesting that they bring equipment for extrication.
The driver of the SUV that rolled over, a 66 year-old female resident of Riverside, had to be extricated from the vehicle by Riverside Fire personnel. The driver of the Kia was initially treated by a private ambulance service that witnessed the accident before Riverside Paramedics arrived. When Riverside Paramedics arrived, they took over care of this individual who was extremely combative.
It was learned during the investigation that the driver of the Kia had been traveling at a high rate of speed according to multiple witnesses. He had blown the red light southbound First Avenue at 31st Street adjacent to the Brookfield Zoo, continued southbound, blew the red light at First Avenue at Ridgewood at Riverside Brookfield High School, continued southbound and struck the SUV as that driver was backing out of her driveway. The driveway was located on the 3500 block of South First Avenue. When he struck the SUV, it sent it into a tailspin causing it to flip onto its side.
While officers were trying to assist the injured party who was laying in the roadway, the driver of the Kia was screaming profanities at the officers and extremely belligerent with the paramedics as well. This individual had serious injuries and was transported to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood. A police officer had to accompany the injured party in the back of the paramedic unit as he continued to be uncooperative.
The driver of the second vehicle, the female 66 year-old resident of Riverside was also transported to Loyola University Medical Center with injuries.
Once the officers arrived at the hospital with the driver, they could detect a strong odor of alcohol on his breath and he displayed obvious signs of intoxication. He refused to cooperate with police and did not submit voluntarily to a breath, blood or urine test. This individual continued to scream profanities at both police investigators and hospital personnel.
The victim in this accident, the individual driving the SUV, sustained a leg injury and head injury. She was treated at Loyola Hospital and released.
The driver of the Kia was admitted to Loyola University with serious injuries including shoulder injuries, fractures, knee injuries and facial injuries. He underwent surgery early Thursday morning and remains hospitalized at Loyola University Medical Center.
At this time, Riverside Police are not releasing the name of the offender as he has not been officially charged. However, he is a 24 year-old male resident of La Grange. Charges are pending once he is released from the hospital into police custody. Police are expected to charge this individual with several traffic violations including drunk driving. The driver was currently on parole and per the Illinois Department of Corrections and per state statute, the Illinois Department of Corrections was notified and asked that a violation warrant be issued. Currently, the Illinois Department of Correction has refused to issue such a warrant. He is on parole for a felony possession of a controlled substance conviction from 2014.
Riverside Police Chief Thomas Weitzel stated, “To think that one of our residents was simply pulling out of her driveway and violently rammed by a vehicle driven by an intoxicated motorist traveling 90 miles an hour is unfathomable. It is a miracle that she was not killed. Multiple witnesses saw this driver driving at excessive speeds and blowing traffic lights southbound First Avenue from 31st Street. I cannot understand why the Illinois Department of Corrections will not issue a parole violation warrant when this individual clearly violated his parole status with this new arrest. The parole violation system is not working in my opinion.”
Riverside Police will be seeking blood and urine results via subpoena as the offender is suspected of being under the influence of alcohol and drugs.
The intersection of First Avenue and Ridgewood Road was shut down for one hour as a result of this crash.
Once the driver is released back into police custody, his identifiers will be released to the public.
