A man has been accused of DUI after allegedly causing two hit-and-run car accidents in a very short period of time. The Madison County Sheriff’s department received two separate phone calls, minutes apart. The accused man was apprehended after the accidents and is now facing DUI charges and also two counts of leaving the scene of an accident.
Police allege in the span of only 16 minutes, the 29-year-old man caused two accidents before eventually abandoning his vehicle at the intersection of Seminary Street and Windsor Drive in Godfrey.
Police received the first call at 8:24 p.m. A man claimed his vehicle was struck from behind by a dark SUV or minivan that had only one headlight. The driver was said to have left the scene and traveled east on Tolle Lane. The victim was uninjured.
The second call arrived at 8:40 p.m. and police responded to reports of another crash at Humbert Road and Richland Woods Road, also in Godfrey. The crash victim reported he was also struck by automobile matching the description of the vehicle involved in the first crash. The driver also was said to have fled the scene of that accident.
An SUV that authorities believed was involved in both crashes was later found abandoned. The vehicle had sustained damage to the front end and was also missing part of its front bumper, grill and headlight mounts. Registration documents showed the vehicle belonged to the 29-year-old Alton man, but he was not home when deputies arrived at his residence.
Surveillance tape allegedly showed the man entering a local bar at 5:37 p.m. and leaving in a green Explorer at 8:14 p.m. the same night. A search warrant for the Explorer netted investigators paint samples and scrapings from the SUV. Beer bottles and insurance documents were also allegedly found in the vehicle.
This man likely has an uphill legal battle ahead of him. DUI charges are taken seriously in Madison County and throughout Illinois, so the man will need to ensure he is aware of his legal rights as he prepares to answer to the charges leveled against him.
Source: The Edwardsville Intelligencer, “Motorist accused of causing 2 accidents,” Steve Horrell, April 30, 2012