Articles Posted in DUI

Drunk driving and driving under the influence of drugs are problems that are too common in Chicago and the surrounding suburbs. Annually, thousands of drivers take to the roads when they are under the influence, leading to a decreased ability to make quick decisions, a lower ability to focus on traffic and the roads, and significantly increased odds of being involved in a collision. When these drivers do crash, often they are injured or hurt, and often they injure others who were in the wrong place and at the wrong time.

Driving under the influence is reckless and it places the safety of everyone on the road at risk. Causing an accident while being so reckless can make a drunk or impaired driver civilly liable for the financial costs of the injuries that result. A personal injury lawyer can help accident victims understand if they are entitled to bring a claim and if they are entitled to relief.

Often, drugs or alcohol can make a bad situation worse and can combine with other factors to cause an accident where a non-impaired driver may have been able to avoid one. If the early reports by police are correct, this may be the case with a fatal Forest Park crash that happened on Sunday.

Police initially believed that a minivan stalled in the center lane of I-290 and that an SUV rear-ended the van, killing two in the minivan and leaving a third person, as well as the driver of the SUV, injured. But as their investigation has continued, police now believe that in addition to the stalling minivan, the driver of the SUV, a 26-year-old man, was under the influence of alcohol and also had other drugs in his system at the time of the collision.

The 26-year-old driver has been arrested and charged with multiple felonies including two counts of aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol that resulted in death and two counts of aggravated driving under the influence of drugs that resulted in death. He is also charged with leaving the scene of a fatal accident. If convicted of the charges facing him, the driver could be sentenced to serious time in prison.

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Driving under the influence of alcohol is not just against the law but it is also incredibly dangerous. Every year, thousands of drivers are killed across the nation in drunk driving incidents including many in Chicago. The truly tragic thing is that none of these deaths need to occur; instead, anyone who drinks should refrain from driving and seek alternative transportation like a taxi, train, or a designated driver.

It appears that a Chicago accident claimed the life of a four-year-old boy last weekend and that the accident might have been caused by the boy’s father who reportedly admitted to drinking before driving. Police have reported that the 46-year-old father was driving on the Dan Ryan Expressway over the weekend when he veered right and struck a guard rail twice. Reportedly the oldest child in the car, a four-year-old male, was ejected and flew through the rear window. The driver pulled over to check for damage on an off-ramp and noticed that the boy was gone. According to police, the man did not realize the child had been ejected before he stopped his vehicle for inspection.

Emergency crews responded to the scene of the crash and found the young boy on the side of the road, unresponsive. They transported the child to Comer Children’s Hospital at the University of Chicago but the boy’s injuries were too severe. He was pronounced dead a short time later while still at the hospital.

Police reportedly interviewed the 46-year-old driver about the incident and they stated that the man admitted to drinking alcohol earlier in the evening. Allegedly both beer cans and an empty bottle of vodka were found in the vehicle. The man, who police say had bloodshot, glassy eyes, was arrested and charged with aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol and reckless homicide. If convicted, the man may face loss of a license, incarceration in prison, and fines, among other penalties.

The driver’s wife and three other children were in the car at the time of the incident but it appears that none of them were injured. The driver sustained a broken rib for which he received medical treatment.
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Chicago law is very clear when it comes to driving under the influence: a driver of a vehicle who is influenced by any intoxicating compound while operating the vehicle is in violation of the law and may be held liable for any damages that result. Drivers who operate under the influence of alcohol or drugs may face traffic charges, criminal charges, and even civil claims for monetary damages brought by victims of an accident. The potential punishments for drunk driving are steep and can include fines and a lengthy prison sentence.

The punishments are intentionally severe because of the serious risks associated with driving impaired. These drivers are less able to make rational decisions, take longer to react to hazards in the road, and are much more likely to cause a collision. With all of this in mind, it is clear that an impaired driver risks the safety of everyone in his or her own car as well as everyone else on the road.

Yet some drivers in Chicago continue to ignore the threats to public safety when they opt to drive a vehicle while impaired. Tests have revealed that a Wednesday morning collision involved a 51-year-old female driver who was on heroin at the time of the crash.

Local police received a call of a car crash in the early hours of Wednesday morning near the 1100 block of West Madison Street in Chicago. An eyewitness said that the suspect was driving a Mitsubishi SUV when she crashed into the witness’s parked car. The driver reportedly struck a second parked car and continued driving on West Madison as the eyewitness followed her. The SUV was speeding, left the road’s surface and drove onto a sidewalk, left the sidewalk and returned to the road where it struck a third parked call, all according to the witness who reported the incident.

Police and emergency crews responded to the scene of the collision where they found the SUV driver in her running car unconscious. She was transported to Rush University Medical Center for examination and treatment. During a search of a bag in the suspect’s car, police discovered eleven foil packages containing a substance that appeared to be heroin. Employees at the hospital reportedly found another five packages of a similar substance on the driver’s person and blood tests at the hospital showed the driver had heroin in her system. Officers also reported that the suspect admitted to using heroin that day when she was questioned by police at the hospital.
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Too often, Chicago accident lawyers receive calls for assistance from the victims of drunk driving and impaired driving collisions. These accidents are distressing to attorneys and to those in the community because there is never a need for a drunk driving crash to occur, meaning that the victims of these accidents should never have been hurt in the first place. Yet following a crash, the extent of injuries sustained may be only the beginning of a battle as an injury victim can face a tough fight against insurance companies and responsible drivers as they attempt to recover for their losses.

Ideally, no Illinois driver would operate a motor vehicle after consuming an intoxicating substance, including alcohol, and instead would utilize the services of a taxi, a designated driver, or public transportation to get from one point to another. When these individuals ignore the law and drive when they should not, an accident is likely to occur.

When a driver is arrested for drunk or impaired driving, a conviction of the crime can carry many penalties, including the loss of a driver’s license, mandatory fines, community service, or confinement in jail or prison. In some cases, a driver may be required to install an ignition interlock device or a breath alcohol ignition interlock device (IID or BAIID) so that his or her car cannot be started if alcohol is present in a driver’s system.

Despite these significant penalties, statistics continue to show that many drunk drivers continue to drive under the influence even after arrest and conviction. This appears to be the case for former Chicago Bears quarterback Bob Avellini who was arrested last month and charged with felony drunken driving, a sixth arrest for Avellini on DUI-related charges in the last decade. Just this month, Avellini was indicted by a grand jury for the most recent event.

Police records indicate that Avellini was pulled over on September 15, 2013 in the northwest Chicago suburbs shortly after midnight. The police officer at the scene noticed a strong smell of alcohol from Avellini’s breath and described Avellini as appearing under the influence. When Avellini allegedly refused a breathalyzer test, his blood was drawn and reportedly revealed a blood alcohol content of 0.181, or more than twice the legal limit of 0.08 in Illinois. Moreover, the test was performed four hours after Avellini was pulled over which, if proved accurate, would indicate a BAC higher than 0.181 at the time he was driving.
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It is against the law in Illinois to drive under the influence of alcohol or drugs yet every year, thousands of drivers in the Chicago area and elsewhere take to the roads and drive while impaired. Often this results in car crashes and injuries to those drivers, passengers in their vehicles, or even others on the road.

Lawyers in Illinois understand that drivers with a blood alcohol content of 0.08 or greater will be presumed to be under the influence of alcohol but that drivers under the age of 21 are not allowed to have any alcohol in their systems while they are operating a vehicle. This is because the legal drinking age of 21 means that anyone younger that consumes alcohol is violating one law and driving afterwards violates a second.

Despite these very clear laws, it appears that a 20-year-old male driver was under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs when he allegedly caused a collision that resulted in the death of one of his passengers, an 18-year-old female, on Sunday morning. Police believe that the man was driving westbound on 63rd Street and Woodlawn Avenue when he ran a red light and caused a collision with another vehicle, injuring himself, a male passenger, and killing a female teen in his car. At this time it appears that neither person in the second car was injured.

After the impact, the 20-year-old lost control of his vehicle which spun and struck a metal utility pole in the area, causing a second impact and significant damage to the vehicle.

Police are still investigating the accident and it is not clear whether the male driver will face charges. However, if it is proved that he was under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs, he may face felony charges related to the crash and the teen’s death that could include a prison sentence of several years.
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A crash on the Eisenhower Expressway Sunday morning left two young women dead and two others injured, causing an investigation that has led police to believe that the at-fault driver was under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol at the time of the impact.

According to officials, a 20-year-old Chicago man entered the exit ramp off the Eisenhower at Harlem, intending to enter the highway but driving the wrong way on the one way exit. The man, in a minivan, approached another passenger vehicle that was attempting to exit. The driver of the other vehicle, a 20-year-old female, tried to swerve when she saw the minivan approaching but she was unable to avoid a crash. The two cars collided and killed the female driver and her 19-year-old female passenger instantly. A third young woman in the passenger car survived the crash and is expected to recover from undisclosed injuries.

The minivan driver was injured in the accident and was transported to an area hospital for treatment. He remains under police guard at this time and has been charged with aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs in connection with the crash, a charge that carries a possible prison sentence if the man is convicted.

Illinois law makes it very clear that any driver with a blood alcohol content of 0.08 or higher will be considered to be under the influence of that alcohol and in violation of laws against drunk driving. Drivers are also prohibited from driving under the influence of any other type of intoxicating compound, and this is most commonly seen in the context of those who take illegal or prescription drugs and then get behind the wheel. It can be difficult to determine if a driver is under the influence of a drug in their system but Illinois law takes a very strict approach where any amount of a recognized intoxicating drug in a driver’s system can lead to a charge of driving under the influence.

The laws regarding driving under the influence are strict because the crime is particularly dangerous to those on the roads. A drunk driver is more likely to lose focus on the road, get distracted, fail to obey the rules of the road, and importantly, cause a collision than another driver, creating a threat to himself and those in other vehicles. A driver who chooses to operate a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs may face criminal penalties but may also be named a defendant in a civil case. This means that in addition to a potential criminal sentence including incarceration, fines, community service, and loss of a driver’s license, an impaired driver may be held financially liable for any damage caused, including personal injuries sustained by a victim of an accident.
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A Friday morning crash on Interstate 57 sent nine children and at least one adult to the hospital for treatment of injuries, according to local police. The incident occurred shortly after midnight on the highway near 99th Street and involved only one car, a Chevrolet Suburban. Police report that nine children between the ages of three and 14 were in the car at the time of the crash as well as two adults, one of whom was driving. Suburbans typically seat eight individuals.

Police state that the 30-year-old female driver was drunk at the time of the crash, which caused the Suburban to roll over and leave the roadway. Seven of the nine children were not wearing seat belts or other child restraints in violation of Illinois law, and seven of the nine children were eight years old or younger.

Emergency crews transported all of the children and the driver to area hospitals. It is not clear if the other adult was injured in the accident and whether that passenger needed medical treatment. The driver reportedly is the mother of several of the children in the car and has been charged with driving under the influence and nine counts of child endangerment. The driver remained under police guard while receiving treatment at the hospital.

If the facts alleged so far are proved correct, this is a very troubling accident where nine children were placed at serious risk of death just because a driver chose to get behind the wheel after drinking. Drunk driving is a serious threat to safety across the nation and here in Illinois as drunk drivers continue to ignore the risks of their behaviors. Studies continue to show that a drunk driver is less able to make appropriate decisions and takes longer to respond to threats in the road than a sober driver, greatly increasing the risk of an accident.

In 2010, there were over 10,000 deaths caused by drunk drivers across the nation and over 200 of those deaths were children. More than half of the children that were killed by drunk drivers were in the same car as the drunk driver at the time of the crash.
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A Burbank man pleaded guilty on Tuesday to charges related to a 2012 crash where he was charged with driving under the influence. As a result of that accident, a 56-year-old woman was killed.

The 52-year-old defendant pleaded to a charge of aggravated driving under the influence in a Cook County courtroom and received a five year prison sentence from the presiding judge. Additionally, he was sentenced to two years of mandatory supervised release after the conclusion of his incarceration, for which he received nearly a year’s worth of credit for time already spent behind bars for this crash.

The accident happened in September of 2012 on 65th Street near Pulaski in the early morning hours. The victim previously parked her car on the street and was walking to the driver’s side door to enter the vehicle when the defendant approached in his car. The defendant struck the rear of the victim’s car and then hit the victim herself before continuing down the road, where the car hopped a curb and then collided with a building, where the car finally stopped.

Emergency crews responded to the accident and took the victim to Advocate Christ Medical Center for treatment. Though she survived the crash, her injuries were sever, and the woman died later that day. The defendant was arrested by police who suspected he was under the influence. A toxicology screen later revealed that the defendant’s blood alcohol content was 0.171 at the time of the crash, or more than twice the legal limit in Illinois.

Drivers in Illinois who choose to get behind the wheel after they have been drinking face stiff penalties if they are cited or if they cause an accident. A court can impose fines, suspend or revoke a driver’s license, require substance abuse treatment, community service, or incarceration in jail or prison. Punishments are usually worse when a drunk driver causes an accident that injures or kills another, as happened in this case.

When a drunk driver puts another’s safety in jeopardy, the drunk driver is breaking the law. Not only will the driver be responsible for any criminal charges that may arise but the driver might also face a civil claim by an injured victim or the family of a victim who was killed in a crash.
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Named for a 10-year-old boy who was killed last year, Tony’s Law will shortly become effective in Illinois and will enable law enforcement to identify drunk boaters with greater certainty. Governor Quinn recently signed into law the new measure after the recent sentencing of a defendant in relation to a 2012 boating accident that cost a young boy his life.

In 2012, a family was boating on Chain O’ Lakes in Lake County and enjoying a day on the water. Their 10-year-old son was tubing behind the boat and lost the rope, leaving the rest of the family on the boat to circle back to pick up the boy. As they were closing in on him, the family watched as a boat driven by a Bartlett man closed in on the child in the water and struck the child, running him over and causing his body to come into contact with the boat’s propeller. Unfortunately the boy did not survive the accident.

Authorities later charged the boater with aggravated driving under the influence to which the man pleaded guilty in June of 2013. He received a 10 year prison sentence – the same length of time his young victim lived. In response to the accident, the boy’s family has been advocating for greater awareness of the inherent dangers of drunk boating, and as a result, Tony’s Law has been enacted.

The new law will require any boater that is involved in an accident that results in the serious injury or death of another to consent to be tested for drugs and alcohol to determine if the boater was under the influence of any intoxicating substance at the time of the crash. The laws regarding drunk driving violations in Illinois apply to drunk boating as well, so those found to be boating under the influence may be subjected to civil or criminal charges.

In addition to any charges brought by the State of Illinois, drunk boaters may be liable for the damages they cause a victim. In the event that a victim survives a boating accident, the victim may be able to bring a claim for their injuries against the responsible boater. If the victim dies, the right to bring a claim may rest with the surviving family of the victim.
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Former NBA basketball player and current coach of the Brooklyn Nets Jason Kidd pleaded guilty on Tuesday to a misdemeanor charge stemming from a 2012 car accident. In that accident, Kidd was driving an SUV in New York when the vehicle left the road and struck a utility pole, pushing the pole and the car into several trees. When officers arrived, they suspected Kidd was under the influence of alcohol and asked Kidd to take a breathalyzer or blood test, but Kidd reportedly refused.

Kidd reportedly did admit that he was on his way home from a club where he enjoyed a few drinks. The responding officer noted that Kidd smelled strongly of alcohol and that his eyes were bloodshot and watery. When Kidd spoke, he reportedly slurred his words.

In court on Tuesday, Kidd pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge related to driving while intoxicated. With the plea, his crime can be reduced to a violation of driving while impaired, a lesser offense under New York law, if Kidd completes mandatory community service.

When celebrities get caught after drinking and driving, it can remind everyone just how dangerous the activity is. Here, fortunately, there were no other vehicles involved in the accident and no one was hurt. Often that is not the case. In many drunk driving cases, an accident occurs and people are injured or killed. These victims may be the drunk driver but are often passengers in the drunk driver’s car, other drivers on the road, or even pedestrians.

Studies have repeatedly shown that a driver under the influence of alcohol or drugs is much more dangerous than a sober driver. A drunk driver has slower reaction time and diminished ability to make critical decisions while driving. Yet despite these facts, thousands across Illinois continue to drive drunk every year.

The penalties for drunk driving can be severe. Depending on prior citations and the injuries that result from an accident, a drunk driver may lose her license, be subject to court ordered fines, undergo required rehabilitation, be incarcerated in jail or in prison, or even worse. Not only are traffic and criminal penalties possible, but drunk drivers may also be held liable for the civil damages they cause.
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