Drunk Woman Crashes After a Work Christmas Party in St. Charles, Illinois

On December 14, 2024 at approximately 12:56 AM, officers with the St. Charles Police Department were dispatched to 300 N Riverside Avenue after Tri-Com Central Dispatch received a cellular telephone crash notification. Officer Patel first arrived on scene and noticed that a 2016 Nissan Juke had sustained severe front-end damages after crashing into the front ledge of the electric substation building. He made contact with the driver of the Nissan, who was identified as Maria.

Maria told Officer Patel that she was in South Elgin, even though she was in St. Charles. Sergeant Bradley Schumacher arrived on scene shortly afterwards and began his DUI investigation. As he was speaking with Maria, Sergeant Schumacher detected the odor of alcohol and observed other indicators of impairment. When Maria was asked where she was coming from, she told Sergeant Schumacher that she had left a work Christmas party and that she was headed home. She stated that she had been at More Brewery in St. Charles, which does not exist. However, there is a MORE Brewing Company brewery in Bartlett, Illinois.

When Sergeant Schumacher asked her if she had anything to drink, she admitted to consuming 2 White Claws earlier that evening. She was asked to recite the alphabet from “W” to “D,” but she was unable to do so. She was subsequently unable to count backwards from “58” to “37” as well. Since she had been involved in a car crash, Sergeant Schumacher waited for first responders with the St. Charles Fire Department to come on scene and evaluate Maria. She ultimately declined transport to the hospital. After she was cleared by first responders, Sergeant Schumacher asked Maria to perform field sobriety exercises.

The first field sobriety exercise was the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN) test. During the HGN test, Sergeant Schumacher observed the lack of smooth pursuit and distinct, sustained nystagmus at maximum deviation, and the onset of nystagmus prior to 45 degrees. The second exercise was the Walk and Turn test. During the Walk and Turn test, Maria did not touch heel-to-toe on each step, turned improperly, and failed to keep her arms at her sides. The third exercise was the One Leg Stand test. During the One Leg Stand test, Maria failed to raise her foot in the proper fashion and put her foot down before the test was complete.

Based on the motor vehicle crash, her admission to consuming alcohol, and her inability to adequately perform the field sobriety exercises, Sergeant Schumacher placed Maria under arrest for driving under the influence. After she was handcuffed, Maria was placed in the patrol car and transported by Officer Rentschler to the St. Charles Police Department for further processing.

At the St. Charles Police Department, Maria agreed to provide breath samples. Her breathalyzer test results indicated a BAC level of 0.238%, which was nearly 3 times the legal limit of 0.08%. After they finished processing Maria, she was later released to a friend pending her court appearance.

Maria was charged with the following:

-Driving under the influence - alcohol (625 ILCS 5/11-501(a)(2))

-Driving under the influence - BAC .08 or more (625 ILCS 5/11-501(a)(1))

-Improper lane usage (625 ILCS 5/11-709(a)

-Failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident (625 ILCS 5/11-601(a))

-Expired registration (625 ILCS 5/3-413(f))

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