NEWS RELEASE

RIVERSIDE POLICE DEPARTMENT 31 Riverside Road, Riverside, IL 60546

31 March 2014
Contact:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Chief Tom Weitzel
tweitzel@riverside.il.us

708.447.2127

Follow RPD on Twitter @pdriverside

RIVERSIDE POLICE CHARGE WRONG WAY DRIVER WITH FELONY DUI

Police Chief drafting new legislation for wrong way driving while intoxicated

On Sunday, March 30, 2014 at 4:28 a.m., a Riverside Police officer on routine patrol spotted a vehicle traveling westbound on Ogden Avenue from Harlem in the opposite lanes of traffic. The officer observed the vehicle's taillights in the far curb lane for eastbound Ogden when the vehicle was traveling westbound. The Riverside Police officer was able to stop the vehicle at Ogden and Gage, which is approximately five blocks west of where he originally spotted the vehicle at Harlem and Ogden. At one point during the efforts to stop the individual, who was driving a 2009 Ford pickup truck, the officer and the offender were both traveling parallel to one another. The officer was lawfully traveling westbound in the center lane however the offender continued to travel westbound in the eastbound curb lane of Ogden Avenue. The officer had to pull his vehicle in front of the offender's vehicle at Ogden and Gage in order to stop him from continuing westbound in the eastbound lanes. When the officer approached the vehicle and made conversation with the driver, he could smell a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from the individual's mouth. The driver had bloodshot eyes; eyes were drooping and had slurred speech and difficultly understanding the officer's commands. The officer performed the standard field sobriety tests and the driver failed all sobriety testing. At this point, he was arrested for DUI. Once in police custody, it was found out that the driver, Rafael Arellano, had a suspended driver's license. The defendant was read his warning to motorists and in the police station his BAC. was .123.

While processing Mr. Arellano, he fell asleep on the Riverside Police Department's booking room bench prior to being fingerprinted. Mr. Arellano also vomited numerous times while in police custody. Riverside Police charged Rafael P. Arellano, 25 of the 600 block of Pickwick GW in Mt. Prospect with Felony Aggravated DUI, driving while license suspended, driving in wrong lane and several other traffic charges. Riverside Police Chief Thomas Weitzel stated, "There is no doubt that this motorist was traveling in the wrong lane for some distance even before he was observed by the Riverside Police officer. He continued to drive another five blocks in the wrong lane and had, in fact, crossed all four lanes of traffic and continued to drive without even attempting to pull back into his own lane. If Mr. Arellano had not been stopped, he would have eventually crashed and could have caused a serious injury or death to another motorist." Chief Weitzel went on to say, "Wrong way driving is not taken seriously in Illinois. That is why I will be proposing new felony legislation in which anyone caught driving in the wrong lane for more than 500 feet while intoxicated will be charged with a Class 4 felony." Chief Weitzel stated he will be working with his local legislators to propose the new legislation later this month.

According to the Illinois Center for Transportation there were 217 wrong-way crashes on Illinois roadways from 2004 to 2009, resulting in 44 killed and 284 injured.

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Members of the public are reminded that this arrest and complaint contains only charges and is not proof of the defendants guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial in which it is the governments burden to prove his or her guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.