DUI charged in separate Lake County accidents

Two Lake County men were charged with aggravated DUI in connection with separate accidents Friday evening and Saturday morning in which other motorists were injured.

Authorities said a truck driven by William T. Kappler, 49, of Island Lake, rear-ended a vehicle about 4 p.m. Friday at Route 176 and 12 in Wauconda. That created a chain reaction involving two other vehicles, according to the Lake County State's Attorneys office.

One person was taken to Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital in Barrington with nonlife threatening injuries, according to the Wauconda Fire District.

In bond court Saturday, authorities alleged Kappler left the scene, threw some beer cans out of his truck and then started walking back to the site. Kappler stumbled, had slurred speech and had a strong odor of alcohol, according to information presented in court. He was charged with two counts of aggravated DUI, both felonies.

Kappler told Associate Judge Margaret Marcouiller he was an unemployed painter and had $12 in the bank. He was released on his own recognizance with an April 12 court date and ordered not to use drugs or alcohol. He also faces random testing.

In the second incident, Deandre D. Butler, 39, of Gurnee, was charged with two counts of aggravated DUI and obstructing a police officer after refusing to have his blood drawn for testing.

Gurnee police said Butler was traveling west at a high rate of speed on Route 132 near Gurnee Mills Circle East about 2:30 a.m. Saturday in a 2010 Mercedes SUV he had as a loaner.

Authorities allege Butler's car struck two vehicles at 70 mph. Police said the vehicles were traveling in the same direction as Butler. A passenger in one of the vehicles was taken to Advocate Condell Medical Center with nonlife threatening injuries.

Butler's vehicle was recorded going through a red light at an intersection a block away just before the accident, authorities said. He failed a field sobriety test and was taken to Condell for a non-consensual blood draw, according to information presented in court. State law allows for that when injuries are involved in a suspected DUI accident.

Butler refused and resisted police. Medical personnel declined the use of force to obtain the sample, according to information presented in court.

Butler was ordered held in the Lake County jail on $20,000 bond and faces a curfew and random testing pending an April 9 court date.