16-year-old skateboarder struck by car
Just before noon on Mother’s Day, a 16-year-old boy, traveling eastbound by skateboard, was rolling down the ramp on Van Buren Street from the north side of the CTA station when he collided with a vehicle traveling southbound on Desplaines Avenue. The youth was thrown up onto the vehicle’s windshield, landed on Desplaines, where he remained until Forest Park paramedics took him to Loyola Hospital.
Witnesses told police the boy was traveling “very fast” the wrong way down the entrance ramp, never slowed down, and gave the southbound vehicle no opportunity to slow or avoid the crash because of the speed at which the skateboarder was apparently trying to cross the street.
The driver of the vehicle told police she never saw the skateboarder until the collision, since the concrete wall for the overhead tracks blocked the view of the ramp, which was posted one way going the opposite direction.
Strewn at the accident scene were broken pieces of an automobile headlamp, a shoe, a video game and stylus, pieces of glasses, and blood stains.
During a hospital interview, the boy stated his view, too, was blocked by the hill and the concrete wall. The boy’s mother told investigators she and her son had moved away from Forest Park, and that the boy was going via skateboard to visit Forest Park Library. The police report stated the boy had to spend the night in hospital but would recover.
Immovable object
A witness told police that, at 1:58 a.m. May 9, he saw a red Kawasaki motorcycle, reportedly traveling at high speed, pass him as both headed southbound on Desplaines Avenue. But he saw the bike fail to make the curve at Dunlop Avenue. Instead, according to the witness, the motorcycle continued straight onto the sidewalk, a loud bang was heard, and the motorcycle’s tail light vanished from view. When the witness reached Dunlop and Desplaines, he saw the cycle down on its side and the rider lying face down on the sidewalk, so he called police and waited with the cyclist. At Loyola Hospital emergency room, the cyclist was tested for driving under the influence. No charges had been filed as of the writing of the report.
Blind man endangered in crosswalk
At 6:16 p.m. May 5, an officer saw a white Toyota sedan, traveling eastbound on Jackson Boulevard at Circle Avenue, fail to yield to a pedestrian who was within the marked walkway, using what appeared to be a walking stick for the blind. The officer followed the car, curbing it at Harlem Avenue and the Ike. The 30-year-old driver, a Carol Stream man, stated he did not see the man in the crosswalk. He was issued a local ordinance citation.
Snitched shirts
On May 5 at 6:37 p.m., a woman living in the 1000 block of Beloit reported someone had stolen a package off her front porch. The package, delivered by United Delivery Service, contained shirts valued at $54.
Roads are different out here
Police May 6 at 12:48 a.m. saw a tan Impala turn to head southbound on Jackson Boulevard from Wilcox Street. During the turn, the car reportedly struck and then drove up onto the curb. Despite police efforts to curb the Impala, it continued slowly through a parking lot behind a building in the 500 block of Jackson, then executed a three-point turn before finally stopping.
When police spoke to the driver, a 22-year-old Chicago woman, and asked about hitting the curb, she reportedly stated she was from the city and “the roads are different out here.” Police observed a strong odor of alcohol from inside the Impala, and noted the driver’s bloodshot eyes and slurred speech. Asked whether she had consumed any alcohol, the woman stated she drank “a Budweiser” at 8 p.m. The driver failed all field sobriety tests and was charged with driving under the influence and making an improper turn.
A thief amongst us
On May 6 at 8:22 a.m., a man living in the 300 block of Desplaines Avenue complained to police that someone had pried open both his and the adjoining basement storage locker in his apartment building. The offender stole a plastic bag of Cheer detergent, Sam’s Club brand dryer sheets, and a $35 container of Oxyclean. Police noted no signs of forced entry into the basement room.
Cracked-open windows, cracked-open steering column
A man living in the 7400 block of Washington told police May 6 at noon that he had he parked his silver Acura in the apartment lot the previous night, and in the morning noticed someone had entered his car and peeled the steering column. The front license plate was stolen. The victim stated he had left the car locked, but left the sunroof and windows cracked open.
Unlockable car yields meager bounty
A woman in the 7600 block of Wilcox Street reported to police on May 6 that someone entered her red Hyundai sedan and stole loose change from the cup holder, plus a travel case of CDs. The victim said her door locks did not work properly and there was no sign of forced entry.
Burglars work the day shift
A man and a woman living in an apartment in the 7500 block of Jackson Boulevard told police they returned from work on May 8 at 7 p.m. to find their front door ajar and its lock damaged. Every drawer in the bedroom was open and rifled through. The woman told police she lost a large amount of jewelry, with an estimated value of $2,500. Change from a jar kept on the bedroom dresser was also removed. Other items stolen included two laptops, a Wi-Fi Hotspot device and a digital camera.
Felon nabbed with loaded gun
On May 9, at 9:50 a.m., an officer stopped a Dodge Durango in the 7600 block of Jackson Boulevard, after noticing the driver and passenger not wearing seatbelts and the driver using his cellphone with his hands. The officer requested the license and insurance of driver Kenneth J. Wilkins, age 23, of Chicago. Wilkins reached for the glove box without explanation. The officer ordered him out of the truck, upon which the passenger, Jahmall C. Jones, 31, of Berwyn, leaned forward and reached under his seat. The officer ordered Jones to put his hands on the dash, then called for backup.
A patdown of Jones revealed a black neoprene “waist trimmer” around his waist. When police checked under the seat Jones had occupied, they recovered a .380 caliber Interarms Walther semi-automatic pistol chamber with one live round, and an additional seven in the magazine. Also under the seat was a Newport cigarette box containing a hand-rolled cigar containing suspected cannabis. Listed in the inventory of items recovered from the car was a ziplock bag containing a pill suspected to be Ecstacy. The Durango was towed and impounded.
A check of Jones’s Illinois state Firearm Owners ID Card showed it was revoked. Jones told police he saw Wilkins hide the gun under his seat and denied owning it. Jones also told police he is a convicted felon currently on probation out of DuPage County on gun charges. Wilkins also denied ownership of the gun.
The assistant state’s attorney approved a felony charge of Aggravated Unlawful Use of the Weapon against Jones, who was also charged with possessing a gun and ammunition without a valid FOID card, and not wearing a seat belt. Wilkins was charged with possession of a controlled substance, possession of cannabis, unlawful use of cell phone while driving, no seat belt, no driver’s license on his person, and improper lane use.
Road-rage wrench-flinging
Police were sent to the 1300 block of Des Plaines on a disturbance call at 4:44 p.m. May 9. A woman and a man were on their way to return a rented 2013 silver Hyundai to Enterprise Rent-a-Car when a turquoise Chevy sedan stopped near the Hyundai. A man got out of the Chevy, she said, and shattered the back passenger window by throwing a large socket wrench through it. Robert L. Addair, 21, of Berwyn, reportedly admitted to the act and was arrested and charged with criminal damage to property.
DUI hit-and-run damages bus benches
Two Toyota hubcaps were left behind on May 10, at 4 a.m., after the Toyota itself apparently came off the expressway at high speed, crossed the double yellow line, crossed the two oncoming lanes of traffic, then struck the bus benches on the east side of Desplaines Avenue before fleeing the crash scene southbound. Following a trail of Toyota debris, police located the car, with heavy front end damage, in the 2300 block of Des Plaines in North Riverside.
Driver Thomas R. Valenzano, 34, of was taken into custody. Valenzano reportedly said he had been at a bowling alley/tavern on Cermak Avenue. Asked how much he consumed at Eden Lanes, Valenzano replied “a glass of straight Jack Daniels.”According to the report, Valenzo began to talk out loud to himself, saying “I shouldn’t have driven,” and asked the officer whether he had struck anyone. He appeared relieved to learn he struck a pair of unoccupied bus benches.
He was charged with DUI, leaving the scene of a crash, failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident, and damage to village property.
Not much to look at but filled with goodies
On May 10 a man told police his tan 1999 Toyota Camry had been stolen from the parking lot of Walmart at 1300 Desplaines Ave. The victim reported the following items inside the car when it was stolen: a Sony laptop, a Samsung Galaxy 4 cell phone, $1,000 worth of cigarettes and cigars, a black leather jacket with $1,500 cash in its pockets, a car title and insurance for a Ford van, and various traffic tickets and court paperwork.
These items were obtained from the records of the Forest Park Police Department, May 3-11, and represent a portion of the incidents to which police responded. Unless otherwise indicated, anyone named in the report has only been charged with a crime.
—Compiled by Amy Malina
This story has been updated to correct the location of Eden Lanes bowling alley.
