People v. O’Donnell, 2015 IL App (4th) 130358 (March). Episode 381 (Duration 12:56)

Officer says she could tell defendant was not telling the truth when he told her his story.

Single Car Accident

Beckett testified he responded to a car accident at approximately 12:46 a.m. and no driver was found at the scene. At 1:12 a.m., he was notified by the local fire department an individual had been located walking approximately one mile away.

Defendant Located

Beckett proceeded to that location, where he found defendant.  

Beckett testified defendant told him a friend had been driving his car, he had been a passenger, and after the crash, he exited the car to go to a business district to find a way home. Beckett stated, at the time he located defendant, defendant was not near a business district, but was walking deeper into a residential area.

Crash Scene

Arresting officer Rebecca Bragg of the Mahomet police department testified next for the State.

She stated she observed skid marks across the road and a crashed vehicle in a bean field. She identified the vehicle as a white Grand Prix and testified the outside of the vehicle was damaged–the hood was crushed, the mirrors were broken, the front windshield was shattered, and the passenger’s side window was “busted out.”

Bragg testified she observed both the driver’s side and passenger’s side air bags had been deployed. She stated the driver’s side air bag looked like it had been tampered with and pushed in between the handles of the steering wheel. Bragg also observed a cushion and cell phone on the driver’s seat and miscellaneous items on the passenger’s seat.

She explained the passenger’s side air bag appeared not to have been tampered with and there was a path from the car through the bean field, leading away from the road, where it appeared someone had walked and broken the beans.

Admissible Opinion

In Bragg’s opinion, the accident occurred when “the driver was going entirely too fast, couldn’t make the curve, went off the roadway, tried to overcorrect the steering, and causing [sic] them to skid, and it collided with a fire hydrant, which caused the car to flip and roll.”

Defendant’s Statements At The Scene

Bragg testified she spoke with defendant, the registered owner of the car, after her assisting officer brought him back to the scene.

Defendant explained he went to Uncle Buck’s Sports Bar and Grill (the bar), where he played five or six games of pool with three or four different individuals. Bragg stated defendant could not describe or name any of the people he played pool with, except for one, “John.”

Bragg testified she asked defendant about his alcohol consumption, and defendant admitted he drank “approximately five, twelve-ounce Busch can beers” and was too drunk to drive.

Defendant told Bragg he was ready to leave the bar and talked to the man he had just met playing pool, John, who told defendant he would drive defendant’s car to an address on Prairie View Road. Defendant told Bragg he was not sure where that location was.

It was “John”

Bragg testified defendant told her John was driving too fast and he told him to slow down.

He then explained, once the car went off the roadway, he closed his eyes and did not open them until after the car landed. When he opened his eyes, John was not in the vehicle.

Defendant then told Bragg the car doors would not open, so he crawled out the passenger’s side window and started walking to try to find a business area so he could call a friend. Bragg testified defendant went in the opposite direction of a business area after the accident.

The only information defendant could give Bragg about John was he was a male,