Man Convicted in Fatal Crash Faces New DUI Charge: Police

A 34-year-old Palatine man who was convicted a decade ago for causing a DUI crash that killed a 17-year-old Wonder Lake girl now faces charges for a crash police said he caused over the weekend in Palatine.

Police said they found James T. Stitt, of 55 S. Hale St., unconscious and slumped over the steering wheel of his 2003 Lincoln LS after he collided with two parked cars in a parking lot in the 700 block of Independence Avenue around 11:54 p.m. on Saturday, according to Palatine police.

A witness said Stitt collided with the two vehicles and then parked his car in the lot. When officers arrived, they said Stitt’s speech was slurred and he had bloodshot eyes, according to a Palatine Police Department press release. They could smell alcohol on Stitt, police said.

Stitt was arrested and taken to the Palatine Police station. He has been charged with felony aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol and a $75,000 bond has been set.

Stitt has a history of past DUI convictions.

In 2004, Stitt was sentenced to 7.5 years in prison for driving drunk and causing a crash along Route 72 that killed Caitlin Weese, a 17-year-old from Wonder Lake who was on her way home from the Woodfield Shopping Center in May 2003, according to media reports.

At the time of that crash, Stitt was on probation and driving with a suspended license, according to the Chicago Tribune. He had been convicted of DUI charges in 1997 and 2001.

Stitt is next expected in court on Dec. 15.