No one was injured after a Fox Lake police car was rear-ended during a traffic stop by a drunk driver early Friday morning near Spring Grove, police said.
Clinton P. Harris-Snelten, 30, of the 37900 block of North Harold Place in unincorporated Spring Grove, was charged with two counts of driving under the influence of alcohol, Scott’s Law violation, failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident and driving without insurance.
Lake County Sheriff Spokesman Sgt. Christopher Covelli said that a Fox Lake police officer was conducting a traffic stop around 1:50 a.m. Friday near Route 12 and Lake Vista Terrace in unincorporated Spring Grove. A second Fox Lake police officer arrived at the scene behind the first squad car and exited his vehicle, which had the emergency lights activated.
A northbound Volkswagen SUV, driven by Harris-Snelten, failed to yield and crashed into the rear of the squad car, Covelli said. No one was injured.
Lake County sheriff’s deputies responded to assist at the scene and found Harris-Snelten to be driving under the influence of alcohol, Covelli said. He was arrested by sheriff’s deputies and transported to the Lake County Jail.
Harris-Snelten was processed and released on a $3,000 recognizance bond. He is scheduled to appear in court on August 5.
“This reckless act could have resulted in the loss of life or serious injury. I’m very grateful our officers weren’t injured, nor were the occupants of the vehicle they had pulled over,” Fox Lake Police Chief Jimmy Lee said.
“It is dangerous enough being a first-responder without having to worry about intoxicated motorists striking emergency vehicles with their emergency lights activated. It’s simple: don’t drink and drive and move over for vehicles with flashing/rotating lights,” Lake County Sheriff John Idleburg said.