Park Forest, IL-(ENEWSPF)- A Park Forest woman was charged with a DUI when an officer allegedly found her slumped behind the wheel of a Jeep asleep early last Thursday morning.
According to police, an officer was on patrol on July 21, 2022, at 4:51 AM when he came across a green Jeep parked and running, facing eastbound in the parking lot of 2 Main Street, the former location of First Midwest Bank, now vacant. The Jeep was not in an assigned spot, according to police, and the exterior lights of the vehicle were on.
Inside was Victoria L. Wallace, 34, 3220 Western Ave., Park Forest, according to police. Ms. Wallace was “slumped,” in the driver’s seat, apparently asleep, according to the report.
“After a few attempts to wake up Wallace,” the report says, “she woke up, she was able to unlock the doors, and the vehicle was then turned off.”
While speaking with Ms. Wallace, the officer observed that her speech was allegedly slow and slurred with an odor of an alcoholic beverage emanating from her breath, according to police. The officer asked her how many drinks she had consumed and Ms. Wallace allegedly said, “One cup,” according to police.
Police found Ms. Wallace had a valid Illinois driver’s license. The officer requested that she perform field sobriety tests, after which the officer told her she was under arrest on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol.
At 5:31 AM at the Park Forest Police Department, Ms. Wallace submitted a breath sample that yielded a BAC of .145, according to police.
Police processed Ms. Wallace and charged her with driving under the influence of alcohol and DUI BAC greater than 0.08. Ms. Wallace has a mandatory court appearance on September 13, 2022, at the Markham Courthouse, according to the report.
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Please note that we repeatedly say “according to police” in these reports and often use “allegedly.” We are not asserting in any way that those police arrested and charged committed any offenses. We report on what is in the reports that the police furnish to us. As those accused are innocent until proven guilty, the burden is on prosecutors and police to prove all alleged crimes.
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Presumption of Innocence
An arrest does not mean that a person is guilty. The law presumes all those whom police arrest are innocent until proven guilty. It is the policy of eNews Park Forest not to remove items from the public record from publication. Suppose you find your name in the police reports. Our policy is that we will only add information relevant to the final disposition of the case at hand, e.g., “Mr. Smith was subsequently acquitted,” “Mr. Smith entered a guilty plea,” or “All charges against Mr. Smith were subsequently dropped.” We will do so upon receiving and verifying proof of such disposition.
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Police captured all the incidents in this report on body-worn and dash-mounted cameras by officers at the respective scenes, according to police. All Park Forest police officers wear body-worn cameras. Officials typically abbreviate these devices as BWC in the reports.
We encourage persons wishing to leave anonymous information on any criminal matters, including narcotics or gang activity, to call the Park Forest Police Department Investigations Division at (708) 748-1309.
