A man has been charged with driving under the influence for his sixth time after police say he crashed his electric scooter into a car, leaving himself seriously injured, in Lake Zurich.
The Lake Zurich Police Department and Lake Zurich Fire Rescue Department responded around 11:36 a.m. on October 3 to the area of Route 12 and Deerpath Road for a vehicle crash with injuries.
Lake Zurich Deputy Police Chief Colin Gaffney said the crash involved a van and a high-speed electric scooter.
A preliminary investigation showed the scooter crossed Route 12 against the traffic signal and struck the side of the van.
The operator of the scooter, Gerald Gehrke, 56, of Lake Zurich, was transported to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, Gaffney said.
The hospital is a Level 1 trauma center and Gehrke suffered serious injuries in the crash, Gaffney said. No one in the van was injured.
A further investigation showed that Gehrke was impaired by alcohol while operating the scooter, Gaffney said.
Gehrke has been previously convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol on five occasions, making this his sixth DUI offense.
His driving privileges were also revoked at the time of the crash, Gaffney said.
The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office reviewed the case and approved charges of aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol, a Class X felony, and driving while license revoked, a Class 4 felony.
An arrest warrant was issued earlier this week and Gehrke turned himself in on the charges at the Lake County Jail on Wednesday and appeared in First Appearance Court and then in detention court.
The state’s attorney’s office filed a petition to detain Gehrke pending trial, arguing he poses a danger to the community.
A public defender for Gehrke argued that an electric scooter did not qualify as a motor vehicle under the DUI statute but Lake County Judge Michael Nerheim disagreed.
Nerheim denied the state’s petition during the detention hearing and released Gehrke with pre-trial conditions of Level 4 pre-trial services monitoring, an alcohol monitoring device, along with random drug and alcohol testing.
Gehrke is scheduled to appear in court again on January 26 for a status of preliminary hearing.