A father and son had to be extricated and transported to the hospital after authorities say an intoxicated driver crashed into their truck, causing it to roll over and sustain heavy damage in Waukegan Saturday evening.
The Waukegan Police Department and Waukegan Fire Department responded around 9 p.m. Saturday to the intersection of Jackson Street and Woodlawn Avenue in Waukegan for a vehicle crash with entrapment and injuries.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Tyler Dyson said a car, driven by Cristhian Basurto-Nepomuceno, 19, of Waukegan, went into oncoming traffic.
Basurto-Nepomuceno’s car struck another vehicle head-on, causing the victim’s truck to roll over. Both vehicles sustained heavy damage.
The male victim driver and his child had to be extricated by the fire department and transported by ambulance to a local hospital for injuries, Dyson said.
Waukegan Sixth Ward Alderman Keith Turner, who was at the scene, called the incident a “terrible accident” and said the injuries were luckily not life-threatening.
Officers spoke with Basurto-Nepomuceno and noted a strong odor of alcohol coming from his person, Dyson said.
He also had bloodshot, glassy eyes and slurred speech, Dyson said. Basurto-Nepomuceno, who is under 21, told officers he had one drink and consumed cocaine that evening.
Basurto-Nepomuceno, who has never had a driver’s license, allegedly tried to run away on foot from the scene.
A bystander physically stopped him until police arrived. Basurto-Nepomuceno lied to officers by initially telling them he had been drugged before admitting he voluntarily consumed the cocaine earlier, prosecutors said.
A witness told police that Basurto-Nepomuceno’s vehicle had been driving recklessly, speeding and swerving in the road, before hitting a curb and overcorrecting, at which time he struck the other vehicle head-on.
The victim said he had no time to react when Basurto-Nepomuceno’s vehicle came into his lane.
A public defender for Basurto-Nepomuceno said his client has no criminal history, is married, works in roofing and does not remember what happened after the crash due to a possible head injury.
He was charged with aggravated driving under the influence, driving under the influence of drugs, driving under the influence of alcohol, consumption of liquor by a minor, reckless driving, leaving the scene of a crash, failure to reduce speed to avoid a crash, improper traffic lane usage, driving unlicensed and operating an uninsured motor vehicle.
The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office filed a petition to detain Basurto-Nepomuceno pending trial and Lake County Judge Michael Nerheim granted the request following a detention hearing on Monday afternoon.
Nerheim said he did not believe any conditions of release could mitigate the danger Basurto-Nepomuceno poses to the community, considering the facts of the case, including the fact that Basurto-Nepomuceno tried fleeing the scene and leaving behind the injured victims.
Basurto-Nepomuceno remains held in the Lake County Jail and is scheduled to appear in court again on June 29 for a preliminary hearing.