Rodrigo E. Diaz, the 34-year-old Bensenville man accused of being drunk when he drove his car into the fountain at Eight Corners in Brookfield in May, still doesn’t know what penalty he’ll receive from a Cook County judge. His case is back before the court on July 12.
But Diaz knows what Brookfield wants – the $4,163 the village is spending to repair the damage his 2008 Toyota Rav 4 inflicted when it careened through the memorial circle at 4 a.m. on May 8.
“I submitted all the information to our insurance company, and they in turn will collect from the driver or his insurance company,” said Michelle Robbins, the village of Brookfield’s director of human resources.
Diaz was so drunk when he drove into the fountain, said police, that he believed he was on his way home to Bensenville from a VFW hall on Chicago’s Northwest Side. His blood-alcohol level was reportedly more than twice the legal limit.
Police found Diaz sitting in his car, which was leaking fluids and had four flat tires and bent wheel rims. He was looking at his cellphone when an officer asked what he was doing.
“I’m trying to contact my car insurance company,” Diaz, who was not seriously hurt in the crash, reportedly told the officer.
Robbins also supplied the Landmark with a copy of the bid for the work to repair the fountain, which will be done by Itasca-based Hoppe Construction Inc. The project will include removing the remaining damaged stone on the top and west sides of the fountain and rebuilding the top and walls of the fountain, along with one of the short freestanding brick piers damaged by the crash.
Village Manager Riccardo Ginex said Monday that the work ought to be complete and the fountain working again by July 4.
– Bob Uphues
