Passenger Killed In Drunken Wreck, Driver Fled But Caught Nearby: Cops

JOLIET, IL — A Joliet man was killed in a drunken wreck on the city’s far west side early Sunday morning.

The dead man’s name had yet to be released Sunday afternoon. He was 24 and was pronounced deceased at Presence St. Joseph Medical Center, police said.

The man was a passenger in a speeding Dodge Neon SRT-4 that ran off County Line Road north of Black Road shortly after 3 a.m., police said.

The driver lost control, bounced over the curb, took out a small tree, hit an AT&T transformer box, struck a larger tree, flipped over a few times and landed upright behind a house on Hudson Drive.

The driver — 24-year-old Timothy Griffin — got out of the car, checked on his passenger and took off, police said.

An Uber driver witnessed the crash and Griffin’s flight, police said, and residents woken by the commotion saw Griffin try to escape.

Griffin, his face bloodied from his own injuries, was captured nearby, police said. He was reportedly taken to a local hospital and was to be transported upon his release to the Kendall County jail.

Griffin had not arrived at the jail as of Sunday afternoon, according to the sheriff’s department.