NEWS RELEASE

RIVERSIDE POLICE DEPARTMENT 31 Riverside Road, Riverside, IL 60546

13 March 2014
Contact:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Chief Tom Weitzel
tweitzel@riverside.il.us

708.447.2127

Follow RPD on Twitter @pdriverside

Riverside Police Respond to Unusual Traffic Accident

Driver runs red light, strikes vehicle in front of him while he is blowing into breath alcohol ignition interlock device.

On Wednesday, March 12, 2014 at 1:20 p.m., the Riverside Police Department received a 911 call of an automobile accident in the southbound lanes of Harlem at Addison Road (3200 S. Harlem). When the first officer arrived, he found that Vehicle No. 1 had struck Vehicle No. 2 in the rear while driving southbound in the center lane. What was unusual about this accident is that Driver No. 1, Jesus De-Dios, stated that at the time of the accident he was blowing into his BAIID device (Breath Alcohol Interlock Ignition Device) and while blowing into the unit, ran the red light at Addison Road at which time he failed to stop and struck the vehicle in front of him. Mr. De-Dios was not intoxicated at the time of the accident and displayed no signs of intoxication. The driver of Vehicle No. 2, 63-year-old female resident of Lombard was transported to MacNeal Hospital in Berwyn with neck and back pain. Jesus De-Dios, 19 of Berwyn was issued two traffic citations as a result of the accident. He was cited for disobeying a traffic control device and driving too fast for conditions. Riverside Police Chief Thomas Weitzel stated, The breath alcohol interlock device is not meant to be used while driving but rather when the car is started. If the device required him to intermittently blow into the unit, he should have curbed his vehicle to safely conduct this process. It should be obvious that you are not supposed to blow into the unit while you are driving much less on a busy roadway like Harlem Avenue.