5th DUI Arrest For Elmhurst Resident: Cops

ELMHURST, IL – An Elmhurst man who struck the mirror of another car in a hit-and-run crash at a major local intersection last month was arrested on a DUI charge for the fifth time, police said.

James T. O'Connor, 61, was charged with aggravated DUI, leaving the scene of an accident, and improper lane usage.

Patch obtained the full police report through a public records request.

About 10:30 p.m. Nov. 19, another driver told police that he was waiting at the light on St. Charles Road at Route 83 when O'Connor came from the other direction, veered toward the other man's car and hit the driver's side mirror, police said.

The other driver, who was with a 12-year-old, said he turned around to follow O'Connor to exchange information, but O'Connor would not stop, according to the report.

Officers found O'Connor's car in his driveway in the 400 block of East Huntington Lane.

O'Connor said he knew why the officers were there, but said the damage to his car was from months ago, according to the report.

O'Connor then changed his story to say that a crash had occurred at St. Charles and Route 83, later saying the other car hit him, police said. He said he had gone to an IC Catholic Prep football game and then went to Anyways Pub in Oakbrook Terrace.

Police said O'Connor gave other versions of his night. He initially said he had been home 10 seconds before officers arrived and had a couple of shots of vodka, saying he had evidence of the bottle in the basement, police said.

O'Connor later said he had been drinking at Ardmore Lounge in Villa Park before coming home, police said.

According to the report, O'Connor struggled to keep his balance, slurred his words and smelled of alcohol.

When asked if he had felt safe to drive earlier, O'Connor hesitated before saying he didn't know, police said. Requested to perform sobriety tests, O'Connor said, "How about we just call my attorney right now?"

O'Connor admitted to two previous DUIs, police said.

According to police, O'Connor had previous DUI convictions in 1985 and 1987. He was also arrested on DUI charges in 2009 in Elmhurst and in 2018 in Villa Park, police said.

O'Connor refused to submit to any sobriety tests, police said.

An officer tried to get a warrant to take a blood sample from O'Connor, but repeated calls overnight to the on-duty judge went unreturned, police said.

It wasn't until 7 a.m. the next day that a judge called back, approving the warrant. But prosecutors said too much time had passed.