Police have identified and arrested a man wanted for fleeing the scene after hitting and seriously injuring a 25-year-old woman with his car while she was crossing the street in Algonquin.
The Algonquin Police Department and Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Police Department responded around 9:09 p.m. Saturday to Route 62 and South River Road for a report of a pedestrian-involved crash.
Algonquin Police Department Sgt. Jason Burzynski said initial reports indicated a female pedestrian had been struck by a small dark SUV while attempting to cross the street.
Officers arrived to find a female victim laying in the roadway and the small dark SUV had fled the scene.
The dark SUV was described as possibly being a Chevrolet Equinox, Burzynski said.
The 25-year-old woman, who is from Lake in the Hills, suffered serious injuries as a result of the collision. Her condition has been upgraded and she is stable.
Paramedics transported the woman to Northwestern Medicine Hospital in Huntley.
An initial investigation shows the woman was crossing the street in the crosswalk, Burzynski said.
Witnesses told investigators that the inner lane of eastbound traffic had stopped to allow the woman to cross Route 62.
Burzynski said the woman began to cross the roadway when she was struck by the dark SUV, which was traveling eastbound in the far right outside lane.
The crash led to the closure of the inside lanes of eastbound and westbound Route 62.
The inside lanes were closed for almost four hours during the investigation.
In an update Sunday afternoon, Burzynski said officers were led to the 500 block of North Harrison Street where they located a dark-colored Chevrolet SUV.
The Chevrolet had damage consistent with being involved in the hit-and-crash crash.
The vehicle was in the rear parking lot of an apartment complex.
Officers spoke with a 33-year-old Algonquin woman, who told officers she was a passenger in the Chevrolet that was involved in the crash, Burzynski said.
The woman identified the driver as Paul Epifanio, 38, of Algonquin.
Officers made contact with Epifanio and took him into custody on an unrelated outstanding arrest warrant.
Epifanio was transported to the Algonquin Police Department where he later admitted to driving the vehicle that struck the 25-year-old woman, Burzynski said.
Epifanio was charged with leaving the scene of an injury crash, failure to report an accident, driving without a license, improper use of registration and expired registration, failure to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk, failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident and unsafe tires.
Epifanio was transported to McHenry County Jail to await a bond hearing.