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Police: Suspected drunken driver crashes into Crystal Lake church

A Lake in the Hills man faces driving under the influence and multiple traffic charges after police say he crashed a car into a Crystal Lake church early Thursday morning.

Crystal Lake police and fire rescue crews found the 2007 Lexus inside the Living Waters Lutheran Church, 1808 Miller Road, at about 12:18 a.m. Thursday when responding to reports of a crash, authorities say.

The car had left the roadway and plowed through an exterior brick wall of the unoccupied church, causing significant damage, police said.

A witness told officers the driver, who was the only person in the car, walked away before police arrived. About 30 minutes later, suspected driver Daniel A. Lang, 41, was located walking along the 1600 block of Autumncrest Drive in Crystal Lake, about a mile from the crash scene, police said.

Lang, who was not injured and refused treatment, was arrested on two counts of driving under the influence of alcohol and one charge of failure to give information after striking unattended vehicle/property. All three charges are Class A misdemeanors punishable by up to a year in jail.

He also received tickets for failure to reduce speed to avoid a traffic crash and disobeying a stop sign, police said.

Lang posted the required bond and was released from police custody.

Police said the estimated cost of damage to the building was not known Thursday morning.

Daniel A. Lang
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