There’s intoxicated, and then there’s polluted.
A man accused of driving drunk astonished Crystal Lake police when a breath analysis revealed the man had a blood-alcohol level of 0.38 percent, nearly four times the legal limit of 0.10 percent.
Anyone who registers a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.30 percent or higher is routinely taken to a hospital for medical treatment in most McHenry County police departments. So was this suspect, who officers said was walking and talking, though his driving left much to be desired.
The man allegedly came within 5 feet of crashing into a squad car while running a red light at U.S. Highway 14 in Crystal Lake.
Before that incident, the suspect had blocked the east lane of Virginia Road when he stopped for no apparent reason, police said. Some officers speculated the suspect fell asleep for a few moments, was startled awake and blew through the red light.
His was reportedly not the highest blood-alcohol level ever recorded in Crystal Lake, though.
Department legend has it that one suspect lit up the Breathalyser with a score of 0.44 percent.
Gregory Leitza, head of the McHenry County Sheriff’s Police community service division, wasn’t surprised to hear of such high blood-alcohol levels. Leitza, who also runs the department’s Driving Under the Influence task force, said people who hit those highs sometimes don’t even seem drunk.
He remembered a call from the father of an 18-year-old youth.
The boy was suicidal, yet coherent, and didn’t act as though he had been drinking, Leitza said. A doctor at a local hospital stunned Leitza when he revealed the boy had a dangerously high blood-alcohol level: 0.38 percent.
“Most professional alcoholics don’t function under a 0.15 (percent),” Leitza said. “To me, the kid really seemed OK.”
A check of Lake in the Hills’ records found two unusually high Breathalyser results over the past three years, a 0.30 percent and a 0.34 percent, but officers remembered another that topped 0.40.
“It’s mostly alcoholics that (register) that high and aren’t passed out or dead,” said Sgt. Larry Howell.
Algonquin Police Chief Russell Laine agreed.
Most alcoholics, he said, fall into two categories. They’re either binge drinkers or maintenance drinkers. Either of those habits can result in remarkable blood-alcohol readings, he noted.
“I had one guy, a 0.34 (percent), who should have been unconscious, but he wasn’t,” Laine said. “Their body has adjusted to the alcohol. You or I would be passed out.”
Cops on the court: After a one-year reprieve, Algonquin and Lake in the Hills police will battle it out on the court Friday night in a tie-breaking game for bragging rights.
The two departments are set to shoot it out Friday on the Jacobs High School basketball court. Each department has captured the trophy once in their two previous matchups.
The game starts at 7 p.m. Tickets are $2 for children and $4 for adults. Proceeds benefit CrimeStoppers and each department’s police association.
Although neither side is making any predictions about who will triumph this time, each department’s volunteer players said they’ve been practicing.
“We have become a well-oiled machine,” warned Lake in the Hills Police Chief James Wales, who’s coaching his team.
“I hope all the boasting on both sides is true,” said Algonquin Police Officer Chris Filippini. “There are a lot of competitive people on each team.”
Both sides should have a fairly substantial audience cheering them on this year, thanks to several corporate sponsors.
A few hundred tickets purchased by the companies were distributed to local Drug Abuse Resistance Education students. About $800 has been raised so far, according to Wales.
The donation to CrimeStoppers ensures those volunteers “can continue to assist us in solving crimes, which is nice,” Filippini said. “In the past, we haven’t raised as much as we’d like.”
But the promise of watching the area’s finest sweat it out in gym shorts should help boost attendance.
