'I Should Not Be Driving. I Made A Mistake': Accused DUI Driver Sorry For Role In Multi-Vehicle Crash

TINLEY PARK, IL - A 59-year-old man admitted to consuming half a pint of Vodka before a multi-vehicle crash near 159th and Oak Park Avenue at the border of Tinley Park and Oak Forest last week, according to a report obtained from the Tinley Park Police Department. Khodabhai Patel, 59 was charged with driving under the influence and other traffic violations following an investigation into the July 5 crash that involved four vehicles.

A Tinley Park police officer wrote in a police report that he found two vehicles, including a Mercedes GL450 with “extensive front end damage,” in or near the parking lot of the Golden Corral restaurant at 2:33 p.m. Patel, the driver and registered owner of the Mercedes, initially told police he did know how the crash occurred but later said “sorry” when told the drivers and occupants of the other vehicles involved indicated that it was his car that struck the others.

The report states that Patel’s car was traveling westbound on 159th Street, drove over the raised median and struck the other vehicles on the Tinley Park side of the intersection.

“I should not be driving, I made a mistake,” Patel allegedly told police while also indicating he consumed an amount of Vodka before the crash.

The other people involved with the crash told police that Patel threw a bottle of liquor out of his car onto the ground of the Golden Corral parking lot. Police then found a plastic 375ml bottle of Smirnoff Vodka about 20 feet from Patel’s vehicle. It was about three-fourths empty, according to the police report.

Patel also failed field sobriety tests, according to police, before he was taken to the police station and issued citations for improper lane usage, driving in the wrong lane, failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident and illegal transportation of alcohol.