Articles Posted in Speeding

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Michael Adam Musick, 47, of Buffalo Grove was pulled over by police on January 6 for allegedly speeding 37 mph in a 25 mph zone. After an officer attempted to issue him tickets for speeding as well as driving without a license, Musick allegedly became verbally combative with the officers and refused to sign the tickets.

The Buffalo Grove officers left the tickets on Musick’s windshield and returned to their vehicles, but Musick allegedly tried to block them from pulling away. After the officers went around his vehicle, he allegedly chased and tailgated them in his SUV. Musick was pulled over again by the officers with their weapons drawn and removed from his vehicle. As a result, he was additionally charged with reckless conduct.

Buffalo Grove man arrested for chasing cops, www.suntimes.com, January 18, 2011

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Aileen Beernink faces a potential prison sentence after her third arrest for Driving Under the Influence of alcohol. She is also accused of driving with a revoked or suspended license, driving under the influence of drugs and driving without insurance.

Beernink was spotted by a patrol officer driving with her headlights off. The officer determined she was under the influence of an unspecified narcotic and had an invalid drivers license.

Beernink was previously arrested on June 18 on two counts of DUI and multiple traffic offenses. Court records show she was placed on a year of court supervision and assessed over $2300 in fines and legal cost in that case. She was also arrested in 2008 by Naperville police in separate cases involving drug charges and driving too fast for conditions. Beernink was ticketed in 2009 for driving without headlights and earlier this year for driving too fast for conditions. She is also the defendant in a civil lawsuit filed in August where she is accused of damaging a man’s vehicle during a traffic crash.

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Elisha Clark, 25, of Grayslake was pronounced dead at the scene after a high speed DUI related crash.

Donald Mischke, 54, was fleeing police after allegedly breaking into a Target store and stealing a flat screen television set. Mischke allegedly used his vehicle to ram the front door of the Target store just enough to break in. The officer who spotted Mischke loading the television into his car tried to stop his car near the store but the defendant drove off at a high rate of speed. The officer stopped her persuit when the defendant turned onto a road with heavy traffic. Mischke allegedly ran a red light at Belvidere Road in Waukegan, striking the driver side of Clark’s vehicle.

Mischke was charged with driving under the influence of drugs after his blood tested positive for cocaine. Mischke previously lost his driver’s license after a 1994 DUI conviction and he has been convicted of driving on a revoked license three times.

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Reginald Hearon, 50, could find himself serving up to 14 years in prison after pleading guilty to felony DUI and reckless homicide charges stemming from the deadly Kane County crash in 2008.

Hearon driving work at the Illinois Youth Center in St. Charles on the day of the crash when his van slammed head-on into an on-coming car as he allegedly tried to pass several vehicles on a two-lane highway. Craig Smith, 53, from St. Charles was killed in the collision.

A crash reconstruction concluded that Hearon was going at least 10mph over the speed limit and blood test taken after the crash found that he had alcohol, morphine and codeine in his system.

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Kelli and Jessica Uhl were killed in the November 2007 accident cause by former Illinois State Trooper Matt Mitchell.

Mitchell, who was responding to another accident, was driving at 126mph through busy traffic on Interstate 64 while sending and receiving emails and talking to his girlfriend on his mobile phone. He crossed the median and hit a car carrying four girls head on, killing two of the girls and injuring the other two.

Mitchell is now asking the state to compensate him for his injuries. Mitchell was suspended for nearly two years after the accident, but still drew his $68,000 annual salary.

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Sandra Vasquez, 26, was sentenced to 15 years in prison after the fatal drunk-driving crash in 2007 that left five Oswego teens dead and three others injured. The prison term means Vasquez, the mother of two young children, will have to spend at least 12 1/2 years behind bars.

Initially, Vazquez faced up to 28 years in prison. Her request for probation was denied by Kendall County Judge Clint Hull who instead imposed the prison term. The jury deliberated for nearly 12 hours over two days before convicting Vasquez of reckless homicide and aggravated DUI. During deliberations, jurors watched a videotaped interrogation of Vasquez in which she told police that she had several drinks prior to driving the teens home but insisted she was not drunk.

Prosecutors presented evidence that Vasquez was drunk and speeding when her car swerved off Illinois 31 at hit a utility pole in the far west suburb of Aurora. Killed in the crash were Katherine Merkel, 14; James McGee,14; Jessica Nutoni, 15; Tiffany Urso, 16; and Matthew Frank, 17. Vasquez and three other passengers were seriously injured but survived.

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Edward Cook was found guilty of reckless homicide and aggravated DUI instead of murder after losing control of his car while driving at a high rate of speed, skidding onto the sidewalk and striking a man, David Long, and his dog. Both Long, 54-years-old, and his dog were killed in the crash. Citing other cases with similar circumstances, a Kane County judge decided that Cook’s actions did not fall under the criteria for a felony murder conviction. Cook will be sentenced July 23.

No murder in death of man, dog, chicagotribune.com, May 21, 2010

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A driver was charged with DUI after running into a Chicago Police officer and a woman that the officer had pulled over for a traffic violation. The incident took place at about 3:20 a.m. in the 5600 block of West Foster Avenue in Chicago. Steve Ortiz, 21, was charged with misdemeanor DUI, negligent driving, driving without a license, and a lane usage violation.

Allegedly, the vehicle turned onto Foster from Central at a high rate of speed while the officer and woman where stopped at the light at Foster and Central. The vehicle hit the woman’s vehicle, throwing the officer to the ground. The woman and officer were taken to Our Lady of the Resurrection Medical Center and the officer has since been released. Ortiz is expected in court on June 28, 2010.

Officer, motorist injured during traffic stop, suntimes.com, May 6, 2010

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The alleged carjacking of a cab in Lake County led police on a chase ending in Wisconsin. Carl J. Blahnik, 53, of Nevada is facing felony charges in the incident. Specifically, Blahnik is charged with fleeing an officer, operating a vehicle without consent, and DUI. Additionally, he was cited for multiple traffic offenses, including driving while revoked.

Blahnik was allegedly intoxicated and became angry after the cab driver charged him $26 in cab fare, which led to the carjacking. The incident occurred in north Suburban Lake County, near the intersection of US 41 and Russell Road. Kenosha County Sherriff’s deputies intercepted the cab around 11:21 p.m. and initiated a stop. Blahnik allegedly fled, weaving between lanes and exceeding speeds of 100mph. Eventually, the driver lost control and crashed into a concrete barrier, ending the chase. Blahnik sustained “minor” injuries and was taken into custody.

Nevada Man Charged with Stealing Lake Co. Cab, Leading Chase to Wis., myfoxchicago.com, May 2, 2010

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Peter A. Tsangaris, 24, of Naperville has been charged with false impersonation of an attorney in connection with a friend’s DUI-related traffic stop. Tsangaris is a pre-law student at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Tsangaris was a passenger in the vehicle of a friend, Phillip D. Hamiti, who was pulled over by Naperville police around 1:30 a.m. on Apill 11. Hamiti was allegedly driving 51 mph in a 30 mph zone and committed several additional traffic violations. After being curbed, Hamiti allegedly gave false identifying information before the officer determined his actual identity. The officer determined that Hamiti was intoxicated and was eventually charged with aggravated DUI, a felony, in addition to aggravated driving while license suspended, driving without insurance, and other traffic offenses. Hamiti had three outstanding warrants in Dupage County and Will County.

Tsangaris was seated in the front passenger seat and allegedly intervened on his friend’s behalf, questioning the officer conducting the investigation. Tsangaris is alleged to have falsely represented himself to be an Illinois licensed attorney with a family practice. As a result, he was charged with the misdemeanor offense of false impersonation of an attorney. His arraignment is scheduled for May 11 in Dupage County Circuit Court in Wheaton.

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