Chicago woman in Eagle high-speed crash

Posted: Sept. 6, 2011

A 28-year-old Chicago woman received several citations, including drunken driving, after crashing her minivan into a fire hydrant and a pickup truck before coming to a stop when she hit a telephone pole at 8:17 p.m. Aug. 25 on Elkhorn Road at Railroad Street in the Village of Eagle.

Just moments before the accident, an Eagle police officer was inside of a squad car outside of the police station, 820 E. Main St., when he heard the revving of an engine followed by a loud crash. From his side view mirror, the officer saw a parked Ford F250 still rocking back and forth from the impact of the crash. Walking toward the scene, the officer spotted the truck on the side of the road with extensive damage to its front fenders, front bumper, grill and hood. As the officer further approached the scene, he noticed the woman's minivan, which had extensive damage to its front fenders, hood, windshield, passenger side rear sliding door, both front doors which had their windows broken out, and both front airbags were deployed with bloodstains on them.

When the officer got to the van, the Illinois woman was on the floor with her back to the passenger front door and feet against the driver's door smoking a cigarette with an empty beer can next to her. The woman began screaming to the officer that she was trapped and in pain, at which point the officer called dispatched for an ambulance.

Waiting for the ambulance to arrive, the officer smelled beer and spotted additional beer cans inside the woman's van, according to the police report. The woman told the officer she had no idea how the accident happened, but that she had been going 35 mph at the time. Police later received several witness statements, one of which estimated the woman's speed to have been around 70 mph at the time of the crash. The same witness report indicated that instead of navigating the turn in the road, the woman kept going straight and became airborn for a moment before hitting the truck and then the telephone pole.

As the Fire Department was using the Jaws of Life to remove the woman from the van, a firefighter noticed the fire hydrant the woman hit had been launched 75 to 100 feet away. While traveling with the woman to the hospital, the officer was told by the woman that she had been on her way to the Applebee's in Palatine, Ill., to pick up her sister from work at the time of the crash. She also told police that she had coming from Gurnee, Ill., where she had drunk about four beers since 5:30 p.m.

While being inspected for injuries at Waukesha Memorial Hospital, the woman became upset and started swearing at the officer, according to the report. As hospital staff prepared to draw her blood to determine her blood alcohol level, the woman stated that the blood should have been taken when "she was being 'poked and prodded earlier,' " the police report states. The woman also stated that she didn't feel comfortable with the officer in the room when she was "naked." The police report noted that the woman had on a gown and several blankets for her privacy.

During her time in the hospital, the woman began pulling medical equipment from her body on numerous occasions, and that she would begin to cry at random times and "then instantly be happy," according to the report. While yelling, the woman changed her story yet again and told police that she was on her way to Illinois to pick up her boyfriend's clothes and that she had been at her ex-husband's house, where she drank three beers and was smoking marijuana.

After having her Miranda rights read, the woman refused to answer any questions. She was placed on a 12-hour responsible party police hold at the hospital.

She was also cited for operating after suspension, unreasonable and imprudent speed, operating left of center line, possession of open intoxicants in a motor vehicle, and mandatory seatbelt requirement.

The owner of the truck had just purchased it a mere 12 hours before the accident.

Eagle Police Chief Russ Ehlers said the department will submit a restitution form to the court for reimbursement of the hydrant, which is estimated to cost nearly $2,500.

"If there had been a vehicle stopped at the stop sign on Railroad Street, or a vehicle driving south bound on Elkhorn Road, we may have been investigating a fatal traffic accident, the direct result of the defendant operating a motor vehicle under the influence of intoxicants," Ehlers said.