Lake Villa police chief’s son arrested for DUI following crash in Lake Villa

The son of Lake Villa Police Chief Ron Roth has been charged with driving under the influence of alcohol following a crash in Lake Villa, officials said.

Robert Roth, 23, of the 20000 block of San Rem Avenue in Venetian Village, an unincorporated area near Lake Villa, was driving a 2006 Chevrolet Trailblazer in the 200 block of Route 83 at 12:51 a.m. on June 14 when he struck a tree, Lake Villa Police Lt. Dennis Geraty said.

When police arrived at the accident scene, they found four vehicle occupants complaining of various injuries, Geraty said. All four were taken to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville for treatment of their nonlife threatening injuries.

Ron Roth said he was informed of the accident at 1 a.m. that day, and immediately delegated the handling of the case to Geraty and other Lake Villa police officers to ensure there is no conflict of interest in the prosecution of his son.

“As the department’s chief executive officer, I ordered my command personnel to handle the crash investigation by the book, to include making an arrest if warranted,” he said. “The Lake Villa Police Department and I have a zero-tolerance policy on operating a motor vehicle while impaired.”

Robert Roth, who does not live with his father, was arrested and charged with DUI, reckless driving, improper lane usage and failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident after he was released from Condell later on June 14, Geraty said.

Robert Roth is scheduled to appear in Lake County circuit court on July 13.

“My son made a very tragic decision to drive a motor vehicle with passengers while impaired and he will be responsible for his actions through the court system, which I am confident will treat him no different than anyone else,” Ron Roth said. “As the chief of police, I have delegated my authority of case approval and follow-up on this arrest to one of my command officers to further insure no conflict of interest.”