South Suburban DUI Arrests, March 11

March 4: James Sokoloski, 26, of the 5600 block of 158th Street in Oak Forest, was charged with drunken driving. He was stopped at 3:08 a.m. after he was seen veering between lanes and failed a breath test, police said.

March 3: Michael Sikiric, 25, of the 6200 block of Forestview Drive in Oak Forest, was charged with drunken driving, driving without insurance and failure to yield to an emergency vehicle. At 11:50 p.m. Sikiric was driving down Harlem Avenue and did not pull over when an emergency vehicle was driving behind him, police said. He failed a breath test, police said.

March 3: Michael Konaszewski, 20, of the 7300 block of Evergreen Drive in Orland Park, was charged with drunken driving. He was stopped at 4:47 a.m. for not following a traffic light, police said. He failed a breath test, police said.

March 3: James Zigant, 53, of the 17500 block of Cloverview Drive in Tinley Park, was charged with drunken driving. He was stopped at 1:48 a.m. at 130th Street and Harlem Avenue for swerving between lanes, police said.

March 1: Karina Dabrowski, 25, of the 3800 block of 106th Street in Chicago, was charged with drunken driving. She was stopped at 2:10 a.m. and failed field sobriety tests, police said. 

Feb. 29: Police were called to help a car stuck in a ditch in the 15100 block of 82nd Avenue around 8:10 p.m. The driver stepped out of the car when officers arrived and appeared off balance, police said. Police smelled alcohol on his breath and he failed field sobriety tests, according to the report. Hector Vargas, 30, of the 5500 block of South California Avenue, was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, improper turning and driving an uninsured vehicle.

Feb. 22: Police were called about a rollover vehicle accident where one person was trapped around 6:30 p.m. in the 14800 block of Wolf Road. Police found that four vehicles were involved in the accident, according to the report. According to witnesses, a Mazda car was driving south on Wolf Road and couldn’t stop soon enough to avoid striking a Toyota van, leading it to roll over “several times,” police said. The Mazda’s front end was heavily crumpled and the driver needed to be pulled out of the passenger side, police said. The Toyota driver was extricated from the van, and hospital staff later told police he was stable, according to the report. Police and paramedics smelled alcohol on the breath of the Mazda driver, though he declined to take a Breathalyzer test, police said. David P. Wantroba, 43, of the 15700 block of 114th Avenue in Orland Park, was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident.

Feb. 15: Police pulled behind a vehicle after seeing it stop for several moments at an intersection, then driving away slowly, turning without signaling and parking behind a closed business in the 11300 block of Southwest Highway around 1:25 a.m. The driver’s breath smelled like alcohol, he failed field sobriety tests and kept handing officers a business card instead of his driver’s license, police said.  Paul A. Frankowski, 48, of the 700 block of Sojourn Road in New Lenox, was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, failure to signal, driving without a license in possession and failure to notify the Secretary of State of an address change.

Feb. 12: Police saw a parked vehicle with its lights on, and a man leaving the car, in the 9100 block of Orland Court around 4:10 a.m. The officer then saw the car driving away from the area, and the driver jumped out of the car when the officer pulled it over, police said. The driver’s breath smelled like alcohol and he failed field sobriety tests, police said. Bryan E. Novak, 26, of the 300 block of Miami Street in Park Forest, was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, driving under the influence with a blood-alcohol level greater than .08 and failure to signal.

Feb. 6: Police say a car drifting between lanes had a drunken driver behind the wheel. At about 12:32 a.m., an officer saw Jorge Cervantes, 29, of Woodstock traveling eastbound on 87th Street at Richmond Avenue, according to reports. When the officer stopped the car in the 2700 block of 87th Street, Cervantes admitted that he had been drinking, according to police. Cervantes refused a field sobriety test. After he was taken into custody, he refused to take a Breathalyzer test at the station, police said. According to reports, Cervantes was charged with driving under the influence, improper lane usage, and making an improper turn.

Feb. 4: According to reports, Gerald T. Bastien, 26, of Chicago was charged with driving under the influence, speeding and improper lane usage. Police said they stopped Bastein because he was driving 47 mph in a 30 mph zone at about 1:57 a.m. Police said they noticed a strong smell of alcohol on Bastein’s breath and that he had slurred speech. According to reports, Bastein admitted that he had been drinking alcohol that night. His eyes were red and glossy, police said and he did not pass any field sobriety tests. Police said that Bastein refused to take a Breathalyzer test.

March 4: Kyle Smolucka, 19, of the 2800 block Rydal Street in New Lenox was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, illegal consumption of alcohol by minor, illegal parking and possession of fake drivers license. He was stopped by county police in Jackson.

March 4: Police say Jessika Carlson, 37, of Crete, hit a woman in the 400 block of Boeing Drive in New Lenox, then fled the scene. Officers found Carlson driving near Cedar Road and Joliet Highway, and after stopping her discovered she was driving under the influence of alcohol. She was charged with battery and DUI and was released after posting bond.

March 3: Officers began following a 42-year-old driver around 2:20 a.m. after seeing him disregard a traffic light and swerve over lane lines in the roadway. When they stopped Michael J. O'Neill, of the 19600 block of Old Coach Trail in Frankfort, he couldn't give police an accurate answer as to where he lived, according to the report. He repeatedly told them he lived at "196th Street and Oak Park Avenue" in Tinley Park, which doesn't exist within the boundaries of the village. Police said O'Neill failed field sobriety tests. He was taken to the police station and after initial reluctance, he agreed to provide a breath sample and blew a .193. He was charged with disobeying a traffic control device, operating an uninsured motor vehicle, improper lane use and driving under the influence with a blood-alcohol content greater than 0.08.



March 4: Kirk T. Basler, 29, of the 32000 block of South Route 45 in Peotone, was charged with driving under the influence, driving without insurance and improper lane use after a traffic stop in the 21400 block of Brittany Drive. His court date is April 3.

March 4: A woman was charged with drunken driving in Palos Hills after a series of dangerous driving maneuvers.  Christina Donahue, 61, of Orland Park was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol. At 12:30 p.m. on March 4 police were called in response to a possible drunk driver on Roberts Road. When they arrived, officers saw Donahue veer into another lane of traffic and almost hit a Pace bus, police said. She then began to drive her car from lane to lane, police said. Donahue stopped her car for police, but when an officer approached her car to speak with her she drove off again, police said. She failed a field sobriety test and was also cited for improper lane usage and failure to signal, police said.   

Feb. 27: Suzume Kisaragi, 27, of the 6400 block of 181st Place in Tinley Park was charged with driving under the influence, disobeying a traffic control device, no insurance and speeding. Police said Kisaragi failed both field sobriety and breath tests after they stopped her car in the 5500 block of 167th Street around 10 p.m. for driving 57 in a 35 mph zone.

Feb. 26, DUI Warrant: A woman called 911 when she found her elderly mother-in-law’s caregiver, Ramona Lescinskiene, 55, of Chicago, in a highly intoxicated state, reports said. Police responded to an ambulance call at a home on the 10500 block of South Lavergne Avenue around 11:35 a.m. A warrant turned up for Lescinskiene who was wanted on a warrant for failure to appear on DUI charges. The warrant was issued on Sept. 28. Bail was set at $10,000. She was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center and put under police watch.

Police report information is provided by local police departments. Charges are not evidence of guilt. They are a record of police actions on a given day, and persons charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court. If you or a family member are charged or cited and the case is subsequently adjudicated, we encourage you to notify the editor. We will verify and report the outcome.