Man Crashed Into Linda's Pizza Inspiring New Souvenir T-Shirt, 4 Felony Charges Filed: Prosecutor

JOLIET, IL — One month after a 70-year-old Joliet motorist crashed his car into the Linda's Pizza Westside takeout restaurant at 723 Taylor St., the Will County State's Attorney's Office of Jim Glasgow has chosen to bring four felony DUI charges against Robert Lirot, who comes from the 700 block of Clement Street.

A total of four aggravated driving under the influence charges have been filed against Lirot for his March 11 wreck on Taylor Street. Thursday's criminal complaint indicates that Lirot had a blood alcohol concentration of more than 0.08 when he drove a gray Chevy Traverse upon Taylor Street in Joliet.

In his past, Lirot has been convicted of a DUI on March 9, 2013, in Monroe County, Indiana, and another on May 1, 1982, in Comal County, Texas, and "said violation being a third violation."

Some of Lirot's new aggravated DUI charges reveal that at the time of his crash into Linda's Pizza Westside, the vehicle he was driving was not covered by a liability insurance policy.

Jon Berman, who runs Linda's Pizza Westside, which has been a Joliet staple for 45 years, used the incident to create a souvenir T-shirt that fans and followers of Linda's Pizza can now purchase online.

The property damage happened around the time that Linda's had shut down for the night. Lirot crashed into the side of the building after losing control of his vehicle along Raynor Avenue; however, the wreck did not hit the pizzeria's main lobby area or pizza-making kitchen or ovens.

Within days of the building damage, Linda's Pizza Westside posted the following announcement on its Facebook page: "The demand for the shirt we had at the pizza wars has been heard! We will have these available for order in an online store in the coming days. Keep your eyes out for that post. Shirts are $20 plus shipping."

Joliet Patch's original story about the incident was published on March 12 with the following headline: Unlicensed Driver Crashed Into Joliet's Linda's Pizza Westside, Faces Charges: Police