Man charged with DUI after driving into Mt. Prospect pond

A Mount Prospect man was charged with DUI after he drove his car through a brick sign and into a retention pond Tuesday night.

Luis Tamez, 36, of Fern Drive, was also cited for improper lane usage and driving an uninsured vehicle after an hourlong rescue operation at the pond at Dover Park Condominium complex.

Police said Tamez was driving west on Cottonwood when he crossed Busse Road and drove through a brick sign and wrought iron fence before his car plunged into the water at about 10:40 p.m.

When rescuers arrived, the car was submerged in the waist-deep water off Hatherleigh Court, said Battalion Chief Henry Dawson. Several residents from the apartment complex were in the water attempting to assist the driver who was on top of his car when police arrive.

Worried about a possible spinal injury, paramedics rescued the victim using a Stokes basket attached to a ladder tower truck. The ladder was extended over the pond and the victim was immobilized, placed into the basket and lifted out of the pond to shore.

The rescue took about an hour, Dawson said. "It's quite an operation," he added.

The victim was taken to Northwest Community Hospital where he was reported in stable condition.