A 60-year-old Batavia man has been found guilty of Aggravated DUI and other charges for an incident in 2022 wherein his vehicle crashed into a parked Batavia squad car while he was driving intoxicated.
Kane County State’s Attorney Jamie L. Mosser announced yesterday that a jury has found Samuel J. Kramer guilty of Aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol, a Class 4 felony; Aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol, BAC over .08, a Class 4 felony; Improper passing of an emergency vehicle causing damage, Class A misdemeanor; and Leaving the scene of a crash involving damage to vehicle, Class A misdemeanor.
The incident occurred on Christmas Eve, 2022, as officers of the Batavia Police Department were investigating a traffic crash at the intersection of Fabyan Parkway and Western Avenue. One marked squad car was partially blocking the intersection with its emergency lights activated, and an officer was standing immediately outside it, when the defendant crashed into the police vehicle and narrowly missed hitting the officer.
After the defendant struck the officer’s squad car, he did not remain at the scene of the crash.
Officers were able to locate him a short distance away, and the defendant submitted to a breath alcohol test which concluded that the alcohol concentration in his breath was 0.211. The defendant also did not possess a valid driver’s license at the time of the offense.
Assistant State’s Attorneys Katy Flannagan said: “This case is a demonstration of how the decision to drive under the influence of alcohol and to ignore the mandates of Scott’s Law–to move over and slow down–can have near fatal consequences,” said Assistant State’s Attorneys Katy Flannagan . “From the moment this preventable crash occurred, the officers of the Batavia Police Department worked professionally and diligently to hold this defendant accountable, and this conviction does just that.”
Judge Julia Yetter set the defendant’s next court appearance for November 8, 2024 at 1:30 p.m., in Courtroom 211 at the Kane County Judicial Center for motions and sentencing. The defendant faces a sentence of between 1 and 3 years of imprisonment in the Illinois Department of Corrections.
