Lake Zurich trustee charged with DUI after crash

Lake Zurich Trustee Jim Beaudoin was charged with DUI last Thursday after police say he crashed his car into a sign post and a tree near the intersection of Prairie Lane and Cedar Street in the Heatherleigh subdivision near his Lake Zurich home.

Beaudoin, who was first elected to the village board in 2013, did not respond for comment Tuesday.

According to Lake Zurich police documents, at around 6:20 p.m. Beaudoin was driving west on Cedar Street and attempted to make a left-hand turn onto Prairie Lane. He took the turn too wide, left the roadway, and his gray Audi A4 ran over a “No Outlet” sign and hit a tree.

According to statements given to police by several witnesses, whose names were redacted from the report, Beaudoin exited his car, surveyed the damage and threw some of the debris — including the sign, which had come detached from its post — into the back seat of his car. One witness in the report said that Beaudoin threw his hands in the air and appeared to be talking to himself, and another witness said he looked stressed.

Beaudoin then began walking away from the vehicle, reports said. A Lake Zurich police officer arrived on the scene and found that there was no driver. A nearby resident told the officer what the driver of the car looked like, and the officer set off south on Prairie Lane searching for him. Eventually the officer found Beaudoin, who lives on the 500 block of Dunhill Drive, near the intersection of Prairie Lane and Dunhill Drive, the reports said.

The officer asked Beaudoin what had happened, and Beaudoin's response was redacted from the officer's police report. The officer then asked Beaudoin if he needed an ambulance and Beaudoin declined. The officer smelled a strong odor of alcohol on Beaudoin's breath as he spoke, reports said.

Another officer asked Beaudoin to perform a field sobriety test. What Beaudoin said and how he performed on the test was redacted from the police report. The officer told Beaudoin that, based on the crash, witness statements, physical evidence at the scene, his physical condition and the results of the field sobriety test, he was under arrest, suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol.

Beaudoin was taken to the Lake Zurich police station to complete the booking process. The officer issued Beaudoin citations for driving under the influence of an alcoholic beverage and for failing to reduce speed to avoid a traffic crash.

Beaudoin was released at around 8:15 p.m. the same day on a $3,000 personal recognizance bond, which means he didn't have to pay any money upfront. Beaudoin is scheduled to go before a judge in the Waukegan Court House on April 23.