'Buzzed' Dad 'Downed' Beers at Cubs Game Before Driving with Unbuckled Toddler: Police

Riverside, IL - A dad who was pulled over after leaving a Cubs game told police he was only "buzzed" while driving with his unbuckled 3-year-old son in the car.

Frederick Gomez, 23, of the 4300 block of Wisconsin Avenue in Stickney, was stopped at 11:16 p.m. May 5 for going 51 mph in a 30 mph zone and swerving near Harlem Avenue at Addison Road, according to Riverside police.

The officer who stopped Gomez smelled alcohol on his breath and saw a 3-year-old child in the back seat without a child seat or any kind of safety restraint, police reported.

Gomez failed field sobriety testes, according to police, and he told the officer he was coming from a Cubs game and had "downed" at least seven beers. He said he was only "buzzed," not drunk, and refused further testing at the police station, police said.

Gomez was charged with improper lane usage, exceeding the speed limit, speeding 21 mph over the limit, failure to secure child in child-safety seat, driving under the influence of alcohol and endangering the life of a child.

Gomez was charged with an additional count of aggravated felony driving while under the influence of alcohol based on his criminal history.

Police learned Gomez had been arrested in 2010 in Riverside, also for DUI and child endangerment. He pleaded guilty to both charges at that time, police reported. The arresting officer in that case was the same officer who arrested Gomez on May 5.

"The fact that Mr. Gomez was arrested by Riverside police in 2010 for the exact same charges of drunk driving and child endangerment by the same officer is astonishing," said Riverside Police Chief Thomas Weitzel in a statement. "Under Illinois law, it is a felony to drive drunk with a child in a vehicle, and the fact that the child was not secured in a child-safety seat while his father, who is supposed to be responsible for him, drives drunk is simply child neglect and certainly speaks to Mr. Gomez's lack of good judgment.”

Photo courtesy of Riverside police.