Two men later charged with drunk driving reportedly drove their cars, within an hour of each other, into Nicor construction equipment sitting in the middle of Harlem Avenue at Olmsted Road in the early morning hours of June 20.
According to police reports, the equipment, which consisted of a flashing directional arrow, trailer and other signage were properly displayed in Harlem Avenue by Nicor crews.
At 12:37 a.m., Riverside resident Rafael E. Casares, 28, crashed into the equipment, allegedly telling police his 2004 Chrysler veered into the equipment after he dropped his cellphone and reached to pick it up. Casares suffered minor cuts to his arms in the crash and was transported to MacNeal Hospital in Berwyn for treatment.
While there, a blood test reportedly revealed that Casares’ blood-alcohol level was .196, which is over twice the legal limit.
Then at 1:14 a.m., police received a call that a 2003 Nissan Altima had struck the directional arrow placed in Harlem Avenue near Olmsted Road by Nicor. The driver of the Altima, Forest Park resident Eduardo Pascual, 27, reportedly accelerated after hitting the sign and was stopped at Harlem Avenue and Blackhawk Road.
Police reportedly recovered four empty and two full beer bottles from the floor of the vehicle. Police stated that Pascual appeared intoxicated and failed field sobriety tests. A portable breath test at the scene reportedly revealed a blood-alcohol level of .167, which is just over twice the legal limit of .08.
Both men were charged with DUI and failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident. However, Pascual’s DUI charge was upgraded to a felony by the Cook County State’s Attorney since he allegedly possessed no valid license and was driving an uninsured vehicle. He was also cited for illegal transportation of open alcohol.
DUI
According to North Riverside police, Berwyn resident James D. McVeigh’s blood-alcohol level was over three times the legal limit when he rear-ended another vehicle stopped in traffic in the 8100 block of Cermak Road, setting off a chain reaction crash that damaged two other vehicles just before 8 a.m. on June 19.
McVeigh, 50, reportedly was westbound in the left lane when he drove his 2004 Hyundai Sonata into the back of a 2006 Pontiac Grand Prix stopped in traffic at a stoplight. The impact launched the Grand Prix into a third vehicle, which then hit a fourth. All four drivers were treated a local hospitals for what were described as minor injuries, police said.
According to the report, McVeigh staggered outside his vehicle, inside of which police recovered one empty whiskey bottle and one partially empty whiskey bottle.
A blood-alcohol test reportedly revealed that McVeigh was over three times the legal limit at .282.
Riverside police charged Hillside resident Francisco Vivas, 63, with DUI after an officer on patrol reported observing Vivas’ 1992 Chrysler swerve over the white traffic lines several times while northbound on First Avenue near the Zoo Woods at 1:30 a.m. on June 25.
Vivas allegedly appeared intoxicated and failed to complete field sobriety tests. He was also cited for improper lane usage.
Retail theft
Chicago resident Augustin Mozo, 35, faces a felony charge of retail theft after he allegedly walked out of J.C. Penney, 7503 Cermak Road, without paying for over $300 in clothing on June 24 around 4 p.m.
According to the report, Mozo selected several items of clothing from the men’s, women’s and children’s departments and put them in a mesh shopping bag. He then went into the boys’ department and reportedly concealed the clothes in a plastic J.C. Penney bag before walking out of the store.
Security personnel detained Mozo in the store parking lot and allegedly recovered 23 items of clothing valued at $316.
Criminal damage
A resident of the 9000 block of Rochester Avenue, Brookfield, reported to police that just after 9 p.m. on June 24, he heard the sound of breaking glass coming from the street. After checking on the sound, the resident noticed that the rear driver’s side window of a 1989 Volvo four-door had been shattered.
The offender apparently used a pepper grinder to inflict the damage, according to police, because pepper was found littering the back seat of the vehicle.
Driving while revoked
Lyons resident Arthur A. Avizius, 34, faces a felony count of driving on a revoked license after he was pulled over for a minor traffic infraction in the 9000 block of 47th Street, Brookfield, at 1:38 p.m. on June 24.
According to the report, Avizius was pulled over for displaying an expired vehicle registration. A further check of his record, showed his driver’s license was revoked.
These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Riverside, North Riverside and Brookfield police departments from June 19 through June 25, 2007 and represent a portion of the incidents to which police responded. Unless otherwise indicated anybody named in these reports has only been charged with a crime. The cases have not been adjudicated.
-Compiled by Bob Uphues