6 Hit And Runs, Joliet Drunk Also Backs Into JPD Squad Car: English

JOLIET — A 53-year-old Joliet man named Juan Tapia-Galicia was arrested by Joliet police this week on two counts of aggravated DUI and one count of DUI after he crashed into as many as seven different occupied and parked vehicles, according to Joliet police.

Between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Wednesday, the Joliet Police Department received numerous reports of hit-and-run collisions in the following areas of Joliet:

• 900 block of West Marion Street
• 1500 block of North Larkin Avenue
• 100 block of Morris Street
• 100 block of Emery Street
• Plainfield Road and Wyoming Avenue
• Richmond Circle and Woodlawn Avenue

According to Joliet police spokesman Dwayne English:

• Both occupied vehicles and parked unoccupied vehicles were struck in the hit and run investigations.
• A red pickup Ford F250 with a male driver was identified as a suspect vehicle in many of these investigations. No injuries were reported.
• While checking the area, Joliet police located the Ford F250 truck in a parking lot in the 1600 block of West Jefferson Street. As the officer tried to conduct a traffic stop, Tapia placed the pickup truck in reverse and collided into the front of the squad car, causing minor damage.
• Tapia-Galicia demonstrated behaviors consistent with alcohol impairment and was unable to stand after exiting the truck.
• Tapia-Galicia refused to perform his field sobriety tests and he was placed into custody without further incident. Officers recovered open containers of alcohol upon search of the truck. Tapia-Garcia was also cited for Driving While License Revoked and Illegal Transportation of Alcohol by Driver and the vehicle was towed.
• Tapia-Galicia’s involvement in the hit-and-run crashes remains under investigation, and he was allowed to go home, rather than go to the Will County Jail, after receiving his notice to appear in court under the SAFE-T-Act.