A man was arrested after he allegedly drove at speeds of more than 120 mph during a police pursuit that resulted in him rolling his car over, totaling it, on Route 12 near Hawthorn Woods and Lake Zurich.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Elizabeth Cannon said a police officer reported a red SUV had fled from her after she tried conducting a traffic stop on the car for disregarding a red light around 1 a.m. on September 10.
An officer with the Hawthorn Woods Police Department was on patrol around 1:25 a.m. when they observed a red SUV on Route 12 near Valentine Court in Hawthorn Woods.
The SUV was traveling at a high rate of speed and the officer had on radar that the vehicle was traveling at 79 mph in a 55 mph zone, Cannon said.
The officer got behind the vehicle to try and obtain a license plate and it continued speeding ahead.
The officer activated their lights and sirens to conduct a traffic stop but the SUV fled after making a U-turn.
Cannon said the officer continued the chase southbound on Route 12 and the officer’s dash camera radar indicated the SUV was traveling more than 120 mph in a 55 mph zone.
The officer observed the SUV make odd lane changes before hitting a median when it lost control, resulting in the car doing a 180-degree spin, going into the treeline and landing on its roof.
The driver was identified as Carmine M. Virginelli, 19, of Kildeer.
He was the sole occupant of the car, which belonged to his family, Cannon said.
The vehicle, which crashed on Route 12 north of Wynston Drive in an unincorporated area near Lake Zurich, was totaled and was incapable of driving.
Officers saw Virginelli crawl out from the vehicle and observed that he appeared to be intoxicated.
Cannon said Virginelli had a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage emitting from his breath and person.
He was transported to Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital by ambulance.
Virginelli consented to a DUI kit at the hospital and the medical staff confirmed alcohol was in his system.
Cannon said Virginelli performed standardized field sobriety testing at the police station after discharge and showed clues of impairment. He had a BAC of 0.105 five hours after the crash, Cannon said.
Virginelli told officers he could not recall drinking that day but admitted to drinking the day prior.
He was charged with two counts of aggravated fleeing to elude, three counts of driving under the influence, reckless driving, speeding 35+ mph over the limit, driving without headlights, improper turn signal and improper traffic lane usage.
The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office filed a petition to detain him pending trial, which was ultimately denied and Virginelli was released on pre-trial conditions.
“This Defendant is a danger to the safety of the community, as demonstrated by his erratic, dangerous, and destructive intoxicated driving on the highways of Lake County,” Cannon said.
Virginelli is scheduled to appear in court again on October 20 for a status of preliminary hearing.