Ticket Issued in Oct. 26 Wreck

An alert reader called my attention this evening to the online edition of the Northwest Herald, which reported earlier today that a driver in an October 26th accident was finally ticketed today.

I guess yesterday’s FOIA Request faxed to the sheriff’s department reminded them that this October 26th accident had not been forgotten. The accident was eight (8) months ago, and the sheriff’s department finally decided that a ticket for “Improper Lane Usage” was the right thing to do. Was it the “right” ticket?

Give me a break. Two kids die at the scene and the driver and another kid are injured, and the ticket is for “Improper Lane Usage”?

The sheriff’s department would have had the toxicology report back at the end of January, because the State lab was running about 90 days behind. OK, so no drugs or alcohol impairment.

Will we ever know just what was going on in the car? Were cell phones in use? Text-messaging? Horseplay? Why did the driver run off a perfectly good road in a 45MPH speed zone?

Why did the sheriff’s department wait for Honda North America to report on the condition of the car? Did the driver allege that there was a mechanical problem?

Why did it take the sheriff’s department from May 2, when they got Honda’s report, until June 16 to ticket the driver? What in the world are we paying for in McHenry County? Is it any wonder that McHenry County taxes are sky-high, if we have to pay for such an extensive investigation before they issue a puny ticket like “Improper Lane Usage”?

That’s the kind of ticket you write when a driver wanders across the center line, not when two passengers die. That ticket could have been issued one week after the accident.

The public should be outraged!

© 2008 GUS PHILPOTT

Haligus Road Accident

It was necessary to file a second Freedom of Information Act request this month to attempt to learn the current status of the investigation by the McHenry County Sheriff's Department into the October 26, 2007, fatal accident on Haligus Road involving four students from Marian Central Catholic High School.

Nearly six months have passed, and yet no charges have been filed against the driver.

When the reporting sergeant did not return a telephone call for an update, I filed another FOIA request. Six months is far too long for this to drag on. What possible reason could there be for not filing at least the very basic traffic charge(s)?

The first FOIA request resulted in a partial copy of the accident report. This month's request resulted in a same-day written response that the requested information is exempt from inspection, copying or disclosure because the "case is pending at this time."

Does anyone else think that the investigation into this accident should have been completed months ago and charges filed?