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Driver is cited for DUI
Motorcyclist run over by SUV, hospitalized By KATIE SMITH ksmith@shawmedia.com SANDWICH – Douglas Koehler remembers trying to maneuver his motorcycle to avoid the oncoming SUV that was suddenly bearing down on him. Koehler, 32, of Naperville, and a friend were riding westbound on Creek Road north of Sandwich around 2 a.m. Saturday, when he said an oncoming Ford Expedition swerved into his lane, forcing him to try to brake to avoid it. A friend riding alongside Koehler threw his bike to the ground and jumped into a ditch to avoid the car. Koehler tried to do the same, but was too late. The vehicle ran over him and his 1995 Honda motorcycle with its front and back tires, he said. “The guy drove away and drove back at us,” Koehler said. “They didn’t know if he was going to stop or hit me again.” Koehler’s pelvis was broken in three places, he said. He was taken to Valley West Hospital in Sandwich and later flown to Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove with critical David A. Brown injuries. The driver of the SUV that hit him, David A. Brown, 40, of the 900 block of East Railroad Street in Sandwich, faces charges of aggravated driving under the influence, leaving the scene of a personal injury accident, reckless driving, driving with a revoked license, failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident, improper lane use, operating an uninsured vehicle and failure to report an accident, according to a news release from the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office. The crash was the most serious of a holiday weekend that saw some traffic crashes and several DUI arrests, but no reported fatalities in DeKalb County. Police drew Brown’s blood after the crash but have not received the test results, sheriff’s Chief Deputy Gary Dumdie said. Brown remained in DeKalb County Jail on Monday with a bond of $100,000. His next court appearance is set for Tuesday. If convicted of the most serious charge, aggravated DUI, he could
Photo Illustration by Danielle Guerra and Monica Synett
Illinois may join about two dozen states that waive citations for underage drinkers who call 911 to get medical help for others who have had too much to drink. Illinois House Bill 1336, originally introduced by 58th District Rep. Scott Drury and has been sent to Gov. Bruce Rauner for his signature or veto.
Targeting alcohol poisoning
Bill offers immunity to underage drinkers dialing 911 By KATIE SMITH ksmith@shawmedia.com DeKALB – DeKalb Fire Chief Erick Hicks has seen fatalities he said could have been prevented if a group of friends had not hesitated to call 911 for someone who’d had too much to drink. He has responded to emergencies where it was too late to save someone who suffered alcohol poisoning. When in doubt, he recommends calling for medical assistance any time alcohol is a factor, he said. “My recommendation would be to make sure that someone is sober and keeps an eye on someone who is out drinking,” Hicks said. “More than just a designated [driver] – more like a designated friend, I guess.” Alcohol-related calls are fairly common for the DeKalb Fire Department, Hicks said.
Danielle Guerra file photo – dguerra@shawmedia.com
Gary and Ruth Bogenberger react as DeKalb County State’s Attorney Richard Schmack speaks to the media after court May 8 in Sycamore. Their son David Bogenberger was found dead in 2012 after a hazing party at Pi Kappa Alpha on the campus of Northern Illinois University. In an attempt to prevent avoidable tragedies, Illinois legislators have approved a proposal that would offer amnesty to underage drinkers who call 911 for medical
help. The bill is awaiting Gov. Bruce Rauner’s approval or veto. State Rep. Bob Pritchard, R-Hinckley, was one of 34 who voted against the proposal.
“I’m certainly sympathetic to the fact that if someone is having a drug overdose, they need help and they need to be treated quickly, but ... it’s the age-old problem,” Pritchard said. “We create laws, and we choose not to enforce them.” Whether or not an individual is younger than 21, when Hicks and DeKalb EMTs arrive their sole purpose is to treat the patient, he said. “There’s a lot of things that can happen,” he said. “You can have brain injuries from lack of oxygen; you can have seizures or go into poisoning.” State Rep. Scott Drury, D-Highwood, submitted the proposal in February, with the hopes it would encourage underage drinkers to act responsibly in emergency situations.
See BILL, page A5
See MOTORCYCLIST, page A5
South Carolina lawmakers begin debate over Confederate flag By JEFFREY COLLINS The Associated Press COLUMBIA, S.C. – The South Carolina Senate voted Monday to pull the Confederate flag off the Capitol grounds, clearing the way for a historic measure that could remove the banner more than five decades after it was first flown above the Statehouse to protest integration. A second vote will be needed Tuesday to send the propos-
al to the House, where it faces a less certain future. But Monday’s 37-3 vote was well over the two-thirds majority needed to advance the bill. If the House passes the same measure, the flag and flagpole could be removed as soon as Gov. Nikki Haley signs the papers. The flag would be lowered for the last time and shipped off to the state’s Confederate Relic Room, near where the last Confederate flag to fly over the
Statehouse dome is stored. The vote came at the end of a day of debate in which several white senators said they had come to understand why their black colleagues felt the flag no longer represented the valor of Southern soldiers but the racism that led the South to separate from the United States more than 150 years ago. As the senators spoke, the desk of their slain colleague, Clementa Pinckney, was still
draped in black cloth. Pinckney and eight other black people were fatally shot June 17 during Bible study at a historic African-American church in Charleston. Authorities have charged a gunman who posed for pictures with the rebel banner. Police say he was driven by racial hatred. Several senators said the grace shown by the families of the victims willing to forgive the gunman also changed their minds.
“We now have the opportunity, the obligation, to put the exclamation point on an extraordinary narrative of good and evil, of love and mercy that will take its place in the history books,” said Sen. Tom Davis, a Republican. After the vote, Sen. Vincent Sheheen, a Democrat whose suggestion that the flag be taken down while running for governor last year was called a “stunt” by Haley, was given a high-five from a fellow leg-
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islator. “I thought it would happen, but never this fast,” Sheheen said. Republican Sen. Larry Martin, who for decades fought off attempts to remove the flag from Statehouse grounds, said the church shooting drew him to the same conclusion that his black colleague arrived at long ago – that the rebel flag “has more to do with what was going on in the 1960s as opposed to the 1860s.”
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