May 17--A Palatine man who told police he was "the designated driver" of a car that was driven onto a sidewalk while Riverside police attempted to stop it early Sunday was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, according to authorities.
Robert C. Kaminski, 61, of the 100 block of West Hamilton Drive, was also charged with driving on a sidewalk and several other traffic offenses, according to a news release from the Riverside Police Department.
Soon after midnight Sunday, a Riverside police officer observed a vehicle pass her marked squad car on westbound Ogden Avenue at Miller Road. The vehicle was going 44 mph in a 25-mph zone and was weaving, police said.
When the officer attempted to initiate a traffic stop, the vehicle was driven onto the sidewalk in the 8000 block of West Ogden Avenue and then stopped, police said.
When the officer asked Kaminski what he was doing, he said he was on his way home to Palatine -- about 30 miles away -- and that he was "the designated driver" because he was the "most sober," according to police. A 45-year-old Palatine woman in the front seat was "highly intoxicated," according to the news release, and had to be taken to MacNeal Hospital in Berwyn for alcohol poisoning and an injured ankle.
Kaminski failed field sobriety tests and was placed in a squad car, where he attempted to kick out the windows, police said. At the police station, Kaminski refused to blow into the Breathalyzer. He also "yelled and thrashed about" during the booking process and refused to stop moving when his booking photo was taken, police said.
