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Jose Rodriguez, 20, of 5902 Roosevelt Road in Chicago has been charged with two counts of felony aggravated driving under the influence following an accident involving two injuries in River Grove.

Rodriguez allegedly ran head-on into oncoming traffic near O’conner Drive and Thatcher Ave when his vehicle crashed into another vehicle going southbound.

The victim received serious bodily injuries and multiple fractures, she was treated in the hospital for three days before being sent home and is still receiving treatment. Rodriguez was also seriously injured and remains in the hospital.

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Doug Millsaps, 47, of the 800 block of Wescott Road in Bolingbrook was arrested on June 6, 2009 after officers allegedly found him sleeping in his car with the keys in the ignition.

Millsaps, head football coach for Rolling Meadows High School, stated he will not resign nor has he been asked to. He faces his second DUI charge since 2004.

The coach maintains his innocence and will let the process play out in court.

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Alonso Huerta-Perez, 23, of Carpentersville is accused of fleeing a crash after blowing through a stop sign in West Chicago while intoxicated. Huerta-Perez collided with another car, killing the driver.

Huerta-Perez allegedly stated that he drank eight or nine beers before the crash. Five other people were in the car when it went through the stop sign and struck a vehicle driven by Austin Weidner, 27, of Schaumburg. Weidner was rushed to Central Dupage Hospital and pronounced dead.

Huerta-Perez’s vehicle overturned after the crash and he allegedly attempted to flee the scene with the other five passengers, but West Chicago police were able to apprehend him after a witness provided information. He was charged with leaving the scene of a fatal crash.

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Michael Buchanan, 19, was arrested last weekend for suspicion of driving under the influence and consumption of alcohol by a minor. According to Champaign County States Attorney, Buchanan’s blood alcohol content was more than double the legal limit at .164.

Buchanan was released on bond and his court date is set for October 1, 2010. He is the third starter in two weeks the Fighting Illini have had to replace. Buchanan was indefinitely suspended from the team. There is still no word as to how the university is handling the situation.

A DUI can have a detrimental affect on your personal life, career and finances. Buchanan faces possible revocation of his license, thousands of dollars in fines and legal fees, possible jail time or probation and a permanent conviction on his record.

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A Libertyville women, Cheryl Yachnin, has filed a class-action lawsuit challenging Lake County’s “no-refusal weekend” program. The program allows police to obtain search warrants for suspected drunken drivers who refuse to take a breath test. Prosecutors and judges are on call to issue search warrants requesting the tests be done under penalty of contempt of court if the suspect continues to refuse.

Yachnin was found not guilt of driving under the influence of alcohol in 2008. She spent 13 hours in Lake County jail after refusing to submit to a Lake County Judge’s order to have her blood drawn by police. Her criminal defense attorney filed the suit in U.S District Court asking for the county’s “no-refusal weekend” law enforcement events be declared a violation of federal and state constitutions.

The criminal contempt charge against her was thrown out of court in October 2009.

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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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Oswaldo Gonzalez, 36, was charged in May with Reckless Homicide and several different DUI charges after allegedly rear-ending a silver Kia Rio in the 3500 block of West 30th Street. Alicia Pedroza, 58, was pronounced dead at Stroger Hospital. Two other people and an infant were also injured.

Gonzalez was allegedly driving at high speeds for several blocks and blew through a number of stop signs before hitting Pedroza. Gonzalez was not authorized to take the car belonging to a family member and had to be subdued with a taser after the crash.

Pedroza’s daughter, Victoria Luna, filed suit against Gonzalez asking for an unspecified amount of damages. The suit also names Flor Aranda, the owner of the minivan driven by Gonzalez.

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William Larimer, 57, a commuter van driver was arrested while driving eight people home from work on Friday afternoon. Larimer was driving on I-95 in Stafford when his van was pulled over for weaving in and out of traffic. According to his employer, the passengers on the van knew Larimer had just left an office party. Larimer was allegedly asked repeatedly by several passengers if he was okay and many even volunteered to drive but he refused. Larimer has no prior DUI’s and is charged with DUI, failure to take a blood or breath test, and failure to obey highway makers. He has been let go by his employer.

Vanpool Driver Busted for DUI, www.chicagotribune.com, August 24, 2010

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Jonathan Bahena, a 4-year-old child, was killed on Sunday after his mother Laticia Medel crashed into two cars. Leticia Medel, 24, has been charged with felony aggravated DUI resulting in an accident and bodily harm, driving under the influence of alcohol, driving 15 to 20 mph over the speed limit, failure to reduce speed, driving without a license, transporting an open container of alcohol, failure to properly restrain a child in her car and driving without insurance. Her alcohol level was allegedly .151, almost twice the legal limit of .08, and officers found two beer cans in her car.

Medel’s 2-year-old child and husband also in the car were injured as well. Medel was traveling east on the 4500 block of West Fullerton when she allegedly ran through a red light and struck the rear of a Honda Civic which propelled into another vehicle. Medel’s vehicle then crossed into the next lane of traffic hitting a Chevrolet Tahoe. Witnesses stated Medel took her two children and attempted to flee from the scene. Both children were rushed to Children’s Memorial Hospital, where Jonathan was pronounced dead. He suffered a lacerated liver and multiple contusions.

Medel was ordered held in lieu of $350,000 bail.

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Diamonds Gentlemen’s Club of West Chicago settled for $1 million in a lawsuit that had been filed after a 2006 DUI crash the resulted in the death of a pregnant woman, her unborn child, and a patron of the club. The suit alleged that John Hamatas and John Chiariello had drank at the club until they were removed by bouncers because Homatas was found vomiting in a restroom. Employees of the club allegedly put Homatas in his car and the two men left. Fifteen minutes later, Homatas allegedly drove head-on into April Simmons’ SUV near South Elgin. Simmons, 27, was 8 months pregnant at the time.

Diamonds paid $800,000 to the husband of Simmons and the remainder of the settlement went to the family of Chiariello. $1 million was the maximum of the club’s insurance policy. Homatas settled a civil case against him for $200,00, which was the maximum amount of his insurance policy. In March, the Illinois Supreme Court found that the club was partially accountable for the accident, sparking settlement talks between the parties.

In 2007, Hamatas, 29, was found guilty in a Kane County court. He is serving 12-years in prison for aggravated DUI and reckless homicide.

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