Forest Park Police Department units were dispatched to a liquor store at 7612 Madison St. for a burglar alarm Sunday morning. While en route, officials received a second call from a witness who said they observed a car crash into that same building, and the driver had started to walk away from the crash scene heading west on Madison Street.
When officers arrived at Suburban Liquors, they observed a vehicle that had struck the front of the building, causing severe damage to both the building and the vehicle. Extensive damage to the vehicle caused the airbags to deploy, rendering it disabled.
The man matching the description of the individual who fled the crash scene was quickly located and detained in handcuffs. Officers detected a strong odor of alcohol emitting from the individual, while also observing he had bloodshot, glassy eyes and was unsteady on his feet.
The 30-year-old man arrested in the case is from Chicago.
When transported the suspect back to the scene, the witness of the incident positively identified the individual. Officers detained him as the man who fled the crash, and he was put into custody. Officers searched the vehicle and were only able to find an insurance card that expired more than a year prior.
Due to prior observations, officers asked the individual to perform a standardized field sobriety test, which he failed. Later, officers asked the individual to provide a breath sample; he complied and was found to have a blood alcohol concentration of .152.
The individual was cited for a DUI, processed on the charge of one count of Felony Criminal Damage to Property and later released from the station after signing his Non-Discretionary Pretrial Release Conditions bond slip.