April 02--A woman was charged with driving under the influence after an officer caught her driving on the railroad tracks early Friday in west suburban Riverside, officials said.
About 1:30 a.m., an officer was waiting for a freight train to pass at a crossing when a 2004 Saturn drove onto the railroad tracks after the train had cleared, according to a Riverside Police Department news release.
The driver, later identified as Amanda G. Phillips, made a left turn on Harlem Avenue, mistaking the railroad tracks for the road, the release said.
The officer called the dispatch center to contact the Canadian National Railway to shut down railroad traffic. He then parked his car, got out and ran about 200 feet on the track behind the Saturn, the release said.
When the car got lodged between the railroad ties and the tracks, the officer got into the Saturn and removed Phillips, who told him she was on her way home from a bar in Berwyn, the release said. She also said she was driving normally and didn't realize she was on the tracks, the release said.
The officer smelled alcohol and gave Phillips a sobriety test, which she failed, the release said. During the test, Phillips could not stand and fell over several times, officials said.
Phillips, 29, of the 500 block of East Briarcliff Road in Bolingbrook, was charged with improper turning, trespassing on railroad property, no proof of insurance, being stopped on railroad tracks when traffic was obstructed and DUI, officials said.
Police said her car was towed to a DUI impound lot, where state law requires law enforcement to hold a vehicle for a minimum 12 hours until a sober driver picks it up.
