Authorities: Deputy tracks down drunken driver after squad car was hit head on
A Lake County sheriff's deputy whose squad car was struck head-on early Friday near Antioch managed to track down and arrest the other driver after the crash.
Neither the deputy nor Carlos R. Perez Cordero, 24, of the 38300 block of North 3rd Avenue in Lake County east of Spring Grove, was seriously injured in the crash about 1:05 a.m. near Antioch, according to sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Chris Covelli.
The deputy was traveling east on Grass Lake Road, west of Stonegate Drive, when a 2002 Chevrolet Impala driven by Perez Cordero traveling west crossed the center median and struck the deputy's squad car head on, he said.
Both vehicles sustained major damage. Perez Cordero tried to run away, but the deputy freed himself from the damaged squad and chased and caught him a short distance away, Covelli said.
"We are extremely thankful the sheriff's deputy was not killed or seriously injured in this senseless crash," Lake County Sheriff John Idleburg said in a news release.
"I am very impressed that after being involved in a major crash, the deputy was able to pursue the fleeing offender on foot," Idleburg added.
Both drivers were treated at Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville for injuries that were not life-threatening and released, Covelli said.
It was determined Perez Cordero was driving under the influence of alcohol at the time of the crash, according to Covelli.
Perez Cordero was taken to the Lake County jail and charged with two counts of aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol, which are felonies, and driving under the influence of alcohol, a misdemeanor. Additional charges are likely, according to Covelli.
Perez Cordero also was ticketed for driving without insurance and improper lane usage, police said.
Bail was set at $150,000, meaning he would need to post 10% or $15,000 to be released while the case is pending. He remained jailed Friday afternoon and is next due in court March 3.
"The drunken driver will be held accountable for his poor decisions, which could have ultimately cost lives," Idleburg said.