NEWS RELEASE

RIVERSIDE POLICE DEPARTMENT 31 Riverside Road, Riverside, IL 60546

22 March 2014
Contact:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Chief Tom Weitzel
tweitzel@riverside.il.us

708.447.2127

Follow RPD on Twitter @pdriverside

RIVERSIDE POLICE SQUAD STRUCK BY DRUNK DRIVER WHILE OFFICER ON TRAFFIC STOP
Officer's vehicle struck by drunk driver as he placed separate individual in custody for traffic violations

On Saturday, March 22, 2014 at 12:36 a.m., a Riverside police officer made traffic stop in the 3900 block of Harlem on a vehicle that was speeding. The vehicle and driver were traveling at a high rate of speed and it took the officer until the 3900 block of Harlem and Lyons to stop the individual. The driver was clocked at 51 miles an hour in a 30 mile an hour zone. The officer approached the driver. She told the officer she did not have a valid driver's license. The officer checked her status through the Secretary of State and found her license to be suspended. The officer placed the female under arrest and put her in the back of Riverside Police Squad No. 52. Unit 52 is a four-wheel drive Chevy Tahoe SUV. While the officer was interviewing the passenger of the car to see if she could drive, the Riverside police vehicle was struck in the rear by a 2011 Kia. The officer immediately ran to his prisoner that was in the back of his squad and checked on her status. She told the officers that she was not injured; however, Riverside Police requested Lyons paramedics come to the scene and check the female out for possible injuries. The female was treated by Lyons paramedics and refused any medical treatment or transport to the hospital. She was not injured. The officer then focused his attention on the individual that had struck his vehicle in the rear. The Riverside police vehicle was in the southbound lanes of Harlem in the 3900 block, curb lane. The vehicle was fully marked with lights flashing at the time of the crash. When the

officer made contact with the driver, he noticed a strong odor of alcohol emitting from her breath. He asked Lyons PD to respond to the scene to investigate for a possible drunk driver. Lyons PD arrived and administered a field sobriety test to the individual and she was determined to be impaired and was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol. The DUI arrest was turned over to the Lyons PD as it was within their jurisdiction. The Riverside officer took his prisoner back to the station to complete his arrest for driving while license suspended. Riverside Police arrested Joeanna De Oca, 37 of Berwyn for driving while license suspended and speeding. Lyons PD arrested 58-year-old Evelyn Gimenez of Lyons for DUI and other charges. Additional information on the Lyons arrest can be obtained from Lyons PD as they were the arresting agency of record for the drunk driving arrest. Riverside Police Chief Thomas Weitzel stated, My sergeant was on a legitimate traffic stop and arrest on the 3900 block of Harlem. The female we arrested, Joeanna De Oca, was driving on a suspended license and speeding 21MPH over the posted limit. At the time the officer was placing her under arrest, his vehicle was then struck by a drunk driver while his car sat in a legal traffic lane fully marked with lights flashing. This accident just clearly demonstrates the pervasive issues surrounding drunk driving especially at early morning hours on weekends. The fact that a female driver plowed into the rear of a fully marked police car with the lights flashing demonstrates her impairment was severe. I am grateful that there were no injuries as a result of her reckless actions. Chief Weitzel went on to say, Drunk driving is an everyday, 24-hour concern for law enforcement. Riverside Police have seen an increase in DUI and DUI drug offenders, where those offenders are driving under the influence of a legal drug, such as a prescription drug or cannabis. With the medical marijuana law that is currently in effect in Illinois, I can only see impaired driving arrests and injuries increasing even more.

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