Carol Stream police contend red-light cameras help crash probes

In the midst of questions regarding red-light cameras, Carol Stream saw a recent accident where a motorist ran through an intersection and hit another car.

At Monday's village board meeting, Police Chief Kevin Orr showed a video of the July 25 accident.

The driver went through the intersection of Kuhn Road and North Avenue at 38 mph, Orr said, and hit a minivan that was crossing at the green light. The speed was also tracked by Redflex Traffic Systems, the company that installed the cameras.

"The light had been red for 10 seconds," he said.

"How you blow a red light that bad I have no idea."

The five passengers in the minivan were treated and released at the hospital; the driver of the other car and his passenger did not require hospital care.

However, he was ticketed for blowing through the red light.

Orr said the red-light camera footage will come in handy if the case is taken to court.

"The man driving the car swears up and down the light was green," he said, but it's hard to argue with video footage.

Otherwise, in court it would become an issue of "he said, she said."

"But with this, it's pretty clear what happened," he said.

Like many other towns, red-light cameras in Carol Stream have come into question. Those opposed to the cameras contend that most tickets are for right turns.

However, officials in Carol Stream have defended their use, especially since one of the two cameras in town doesn't give tickets for right turn violations.

Orr also said only one of the witnesses in this July 25 accident stopped until police arrived. In situations like that, he said it's harder to determine what happened.

But, with video footage, the sequence of events is easier to put together.