Western Springs Woman Says Why She Hit Barricades: Cops

LA GRANGE, IL — Earlier this month, a Western Springs woman struck construction barricades in La Grange — and went around the block several more times and did the same thing, according to a police report.

The woman, identified as Dara Vorhies Fitzpatrick, 37, was later charged in the incident. Patch obtained the police report through a public records request.

Late the morning of Nov. 2, Fitzpatrick drove her silver sedan into several barricade drums and nearly hitting workers, the report said. It happened on the north side of 47th Street between Park Road and Blackstone Avenue.

According to police, Fitzpatrick purposely drove her car into the bright orange drums. A worker told police that he was moving drums back into position after Fitzpatrick first hit them when she came around the block multiple times and hit the drums again.

The worker said he was 5 to 10 feet away from Fitzpatrick's car when she passed him trying to strike the barricades again. Police said Fitzpatrick drove the car over the curb and into the front lawn of a house on the corner.

Another driver said she saw Fitzpatrick drive erratically, thinking she may be having a medical emergency. She said she asked Fitzpatrick if she was OK when Fitzpatrick parked. Fitzpatrick responded, "They threw rocks at me."

Fitzpatrick continued driving, but was then stopped by police. The other driver told police she did not see any workers throw rocks at Fitzpatrick.

Police said Fitzpatrick wrote a statement for them, explaining the incident. She said she was driving her parents' car near the construction zone when a man threw something, possibly a rock, at her windshield. She said the car was not damaged.

"I then drove around the block a few times, approximately 4-5, hitting the orange barrels in the roadway. I believe I hit 4-6 barrels before driving up on the grass and back to the street," Fitzpatrick said in the statement, according to police. "I believe some people are bad, and they should not be cutting power lines. I thought they were watching me. I think the bad people are out to get me... I understand right from wrong and knew I was driving through a construction zone. I did not mean to hurt anyone, so I did not report the incident or the crash."

Fitzpatrick was cited on charges of reckless driving, leaving the scene of a property damage accident, improper lane usage, using a wireless phone in a construction zone and driving on a sidewalk.