Crime & Safety

South Suburban DUI Arrests, Jan. 5

An open case of beer, a driver failing to yield to an emergency vehicle and more in this week's roundup of Southland DUI reports.

posted January 3, 2014

NEW LENOX

Dec. 29: An Evergreen Park man pulled over for failing to yield to an emergency vehicle turned out to be intoxicated, the New Lenox police said.

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Christopher Roche, 28, of 3109 W. 102nd St. was pulled over shortly before 1 a.m. near the junction of Interstate 80 and Route 30.

An “officer observed a vehicle that did not yield to an emergency vehicle,” police said of the circumstances that prompted the cop to stop Roche.

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“The officer conducted a stop and discovered that the driver was under the influence of alcohol,” police said.

Roche was charged with driving under the influence. He was released after posting bond.

PALOS HILLS

Dec. 29: Tristan Molloy, 21, of Chicago Ridge, was stopped at 2:50 a.m. after police observed him driving on Roberts Road near 111th Street and crossing the center lane line and drifting into oncoming traffic, police said. He was given and failed a field sobriety test and an officer found an open case of Bud Light in the front seat of the car, police said. He was charged with driving under the influence, improper transportation of alcohol and traffic violations.

ORLAND PARK

Nov. 16: An Orland Park woman is facing a DUI charge after a witness saw her crash her car into a median strip and weaving in between lanes, according to an Orland Park police report.

Donna J. Barkowski, 47, of the 13600 block of 84th Avenue in Orland Park, was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, driving an uninsured vehicle, improper lane use and failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident.

The Orland Park Police Department was called about a car that struck the median strip near 143rd Street and LaGrange Road around 6:10 p.m. The driver, Barkowski, said she was not injured and was just trying to get home, police said.

The witness who called in the crash said he was driving east on 143rd Street when he saw a Honda, driven by Barkowski, driving slowly and weaving between lane lines, police said. The Honda then veered into the oncoming traffic lane, and veered sharply back to the correct lane when it struck the median, according to the report. The car came to rest still on top of the median, police said.

Barkowski failed field sobriety tests and was taken into custody. While she was taken in, she asked repeatedly for police to let her go home, according to the report.

Nov. 16: An Oak Forest man was accused of drinking before driving, and almost driving into an intersection as another vehicle was going through, according to an Orland Park police report.

Nicholas W. Hooten, 19, of the 6500 block of 157th Street in Oak Forest, was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, driving under the influence with a blood-alcohol level greater than .08, improper lane use and driving without a license.

An Orland Park police officer was walking out of a business in the 8100 block of 143rd Street around 3:10 a.m., when he heard a vehicle lock its brakes. The officer saw a black SUV heading east on 143rd quickly move from the right lane to the left, according to the report. A red car was then seen facing north and partially in the intersection, while the SUV had the green light, and then turned east onto 143rd Street, police said.

The officer followed the red car, and saw it swerving between lane lines and nearly striking a median, before he pulled it over, according to the report.

The driver’s breath smelled like alcohol, he admitted to drinking one beer before driving and slurred his speech, police said.

The driver, Hooten, said he did not have a valid driver’s license and he failed field sobriety tests, according to the report. Hooten also used a Breathalyzer that showed a reading greater than .08 and he was arrested.

EVERGREEN PARK

Dec. 7: A driver who police said was passed out while parked in the middle of the road gunned the gas pedal when an officer found her.

Victoria Guy, 32, of the 9000 block of Troy, Evergreen Park, was charged with driving under the influence and cited for several other violations, including fleeing police and disobeying a stop sign, according to an Evergreen Park police report.

An officer saw a vehicle parked in the middle of the road near 91st and Western at around 10:30 p.m., the report states.

The driver, Guy, was unresponsive, the report states. When the driver eventually looked out the car window, she reportedly pushed the accelerator and sped away.

Guy blew through several stop signs before police were finally able to get her to stop near 89th and Mozart, the report states. She refused a breathalyzer test after she was arrested.

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Police report information is provided by local police departments. Charges are not evidence of guilt. They are a record of police actions on a given day, and persons charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court. If you or a family member are charged or cited and the case is subsequently adjudicated, we encourage you to notify the editor. We will verify and report the outcome.


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