Drunken Man on 'Mobility Scooter' Flees Cops After Exposing Himself to Girl: Police

A drunken Plainfield man on a “mobility scooter” eluded the cops after exposing himself to a girl in a local park, police said.

County deputies were sent to Clow Stephens Park the evening of June 7 to check out a report of a man without pants. When the deputies arrived, they were reportedly told by witnesses that the man had shown his penis to a girl.

The deputies then spotted 57-year-old James Summers riding a red Discovery Mobility Scooter a couple blocks away on Howard Street. Summers ignored a deputy’s commands to stop and took off on his scooter, police said. The model he was operating can reach speeds of 15 mph, according to the Discovery company, and can travel as far as 43 miles on a single charge.

A squad car sent to the scene tried to cut Summers off but he simply maneuvered his scooter around the cop, police said, and kept on rolling away.

In the end, Summers could not outrun the law and was stopped. He appeared intoxicated and failed sobriety tests, police said, and was placed under arrest. Police also found a 24-ounce can of beer in the scooter, which comes equipped with a cup holder.

Summers explained to the police that he does not use the scooter because he is disabled, but due to the fact that he lost his driver’s license.

Summers was jailed on felony charges of aggravated driving under the influence due to his two previous drunken driving arrests in Nebraska, according to a criminal complaint filed in Will County court. He was also charged with fleeing the police, driving on a suspended license and transporting alcohol.

According to the sheriff’s department, the Plainfield police have jurisdiction in the park and may be investigating Summers in connection with his alleged lewd conduct. No charges were on file relating to Summers allegedly exposing himself and the Plainfield police did not respond to a call for comment.

The sheriff’s department seized Summers’ scooter, which retails for $3,999. He can try to get it back during a June 24 court hearing.

A waste management company bought Summers a new scooter after mistakenly taking his old one away and destroying it in December, police said. Summers had called the sheriff’s department to report the scooter stolen, but deputies determined he left it by a trash can and a waste management worker, thinking it was garbage, took it away.

By the time the deputies tracked the scooter down it had already been crushed, police said.

Summers remains in the Will County jail.