Articles Posted in Speeding

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William Anthony Howe was driving a Porsche the wrong-way on Interstate 88 when he struck a vehicle killing a woman and her father and seriously injuring her husband.

Howe remains hospitalized. He has not yet been charged with the crash or been confirmed as the driver. However, witnesses reported he was swerving all over the road and throwing handfuls of cash out the window.

The victims of the crash, Farnaza Ali and her father, Sherali Shalwani, were both killed. Ali’s husband was hospitalized in critical condition.

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Marquis Harrison, a 16 year-old honors student at Urban Prep Charter Academy, left a party around 6 a.m. on July 11 allegedly high on ecstasy, marijuana, and vodka. Harrison noticed that the driver of a Range Rover went to pay the parking meter in Old Town and seized the opportunity. He proceeded to steal the vehicle.

Police noticed the car running a red light and attempted to pull it over. At the traffic stop, Harrison allegedly backed into the officer’s patrol vehicle almost hitting two other officers and then led the police on a chase. He ran another stoplight where he crashed into a car, resulting in the death of the driver, Marciea Adkins, 42. Adkins was on her way home from work as a Chicago police dispatcher. Her husband is a Fire Department dispatcher and the two have an 8 year-old daughter.

Harrison was arrested a couple blocks from the scene. He was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital where tests showed his BAC at .186. This is not Harrison’s first run-in with the law. He was caught twice at 13 in a stolen car and placed on juvenile probation. He had a grade-point average of 3.79 after his freshman year and led his football team to an undefeated conference record, even earning rookie of the year.

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Paul Woodard walked into court with his public defender with hopes that his $20,000 bail would be reduced to $10,000. However, Assistant States Attorney Andrew Whitfield told a Kane County Judge about Woodward’s 25 previous driving on revoked charges, seeking to increase his bond to $150,000.

Judge Kostelny instead raised his bond to $75,000. Whitfield argued that the only way to protect the public would be to raise Woodard’s bond to keep him off the street.

Woodard was charged with aggravated DUI and aggravated driving with a revoked license. After officers tried to stop Woodward for driving 44 mph in a 30 mph zone, Woodard pulled into a driveway and allegedly attempted to flee on foot but was eventually caught. Due to his previous convictions, Woodard is facing a Class 2 felony. If convicted, Woodward’s previous drug and other felony convictions could result in an extended sentence on the new charges.

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Rodney Jones, 39, may have made it from Des Plaines to the Magnificent Mile on his Motorcycle in seven minutes if he hadn’t been stopped by Illinois State Trooper Jason Heinzl.

Jones is the fastest speeding ticket ever recorded in the Chicago area and possibly in the State of Illinois. Jones received a citation for going 182 mph in 55 mph zone with “moderate” traffic. Heinzl was in dismay when he looked at the radar but even more surprised that Jones had stopped when he pulled him over.

When asked why he didn’t run, Jones responded, “I wasn’t in the mood to run. If I’d wanted to run, I’d have run.”

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Illinois State Trooper Jason Heinzl has been on the force for 12 years and has issued more speeding tickets than any other State Trooper. His total is an astonishing 5,005 tickets. He has issued several speeding tickets to drivers going 5 mph or less over the speed limit, but also is given credit for ticketing a motorcyclist who was driving 182 mph, the fastest motorist ever caught in Illinois. Cars going over 80 mph and trucks exceeding 70 mph are the main focus of the tickets issued by State Trooper Heinzl.

Some tips to avoid a speeding ticket are being extra vigilant on Saturdays and Sundays, during morning rush hour, and between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m. These days and hours are primetime for police to stop and ticket drivers. Holidays such as Memorial Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas are peak times as well.

Illinois’ Ticketmaster: State trooper has written more than 5,000 tickets, www.suntimes.com, June 11, 2011

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Edward Stapinski, 36, was facing reckless homicide charges after his 2009 DUI crash, but those charges were dismissed after he plead guilty last Monday to aggravated driving under the influence. Stapinski was sentenced at the Bridgeview Courthouse to six years in prison of which 85 percent must be served.

Stapinski was off-duty when he was arrested for his DUI accident in December of 2009. According to prosecutors, Stapinski was going 80 mph heading south on the Stevenson when he swerved into the left shoulder and struck the concrete median. His vehicle catapulted over the barrier into the opposite lanes of traffic and struck a vehicle driven by Man K. “Mike” Wong. Wong was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Stapinski admitted to drinking beer at a West Loop bar from 6 p.m. until 9 p.m. He declined a Breathalyzer test at the scene of the crash but responding officers reported he had a strong smell of alcohol, his eyes were bloodshot and he had slurred speech. Blood analysis done at the hospital showed his blood alcohol level to be 0.223 percent, which is more than three times the legal limit.

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Jeff Kuna, 38, started teaching driver’s education and physical education on August 21, 2008. But after hearing about his recent DUI arrest, Valley View School District reportedly swapped his classes so he isn’t teaching driver’s education any longer. Kuna is also the Romeoville High School’s head football coach.

Kuna was arrested on February 20, 2011 for driving under the influence and speeding on Route 126 and Schlapp Road. He was pulled over with three passengers in his car at 3:12 a.m.

If convicted, Kuna could face up to one year in jail, $2,500.00 in fines and have his driver’s license revoked.

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Jose Rodriguez, 21, plead guilty for driving under the influence and was sentenced to 24 months of probation.

Rodriguez was charged with aggravated DUI after he hit an off-duty FBI agent who was driving to a Labor Day half-marathon. The agent, Elizabeta Petruc, will likely have to be out of work for 12-18 months due to the injuries caused by the accident. Her left wrist, ankle and legs were broken, one knee was also badly damaged. Both cars caught fire after the accident.

Evidence showed that Rodriguez had been driving 60-70 mph when he struck Petruc’s vehicle and his blood alcohol level was nearly three times the legal limit. Rodriquez apologized through in interpreter in court. He will have to participate in an alcohol safety program and perform 100 hours of community service.

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Eric T. Maschmeier, 20, was paroled a little over a year ago for a six-year prison term for a botched armed robbery attempt. According to the Illinois Department of Corrections website, he was released from prison on January 13, 2010.

On February 9th of this year, Masschmeier was arrested on DUI charges after he flipped his white Chevrolet Impala into a snowbank south of 75th Street in Naperville. After the crash, Maschmeier and a female passenger allegedly escaped the wreckage uninjured, fled on foot and called a friend to give him a ride home. Police were able to locate and arrest him after they determined he was driving under the influence.

An eye-witness estimated that Maschmeier was speeding at over 100 mph.

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Cecil R. Conner Jr., 22, is charged with the several counts of aggravated drunk driving for a crash that killed his girlfriend’s 5-year-old son. However, his defense attorney is blaming the Chicago Heights police officer who gave him the keys to the car and allowed him to drive to the police station. En-route to the police station, Conner drove off the road and crashed into a tree.

Prior to the crash, the boys mother Kathie Lafond, was pulled over and taken into custody for driving on a suspended license. The police stated Conner appeared to be sober and that LaFond gave her boyfriend permission to take the car with the child strapped into the booster seat. Conner’s attorney stated that his client was “obviously drunk” but was still ordered to take the car and that the officer threatened to arrest his client if he didn’t leave.

Conner was allegedly driving 75 mph in a 35 mph zone and had a blood alcohol level twice the legal limit.

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