Cops: Drunk man drives car with no front tires

A Northwest Side man who was pulled over while driving a vehicle without front tires early Sunday in west suburban Riverside has been charged with DUI.

Marco A. Nieves, 46, has been charged with aggravated driving while under the influence, a Class 4 felony, driving with unsafe tires, driving while license suspended and one misdemeanor count of DUI, according to a statement from Riverside police. He was also cited in North Riverside for failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident, failure to report an accident to police authority and operation of an uninsured vehicle.

At 4:06 a.m. Sunday, a Riverside police officer on patrol in the 2600 block of Harlem Avenue saw Nieves’ vehicle traveling below the speed limit south on Harlem with heavy front-end damage, missing front tires and throwing sparks, police said.

Nieves, who had blood on his shirt, told the officer he had been involved in a crash, but couldn’t say where, police said. Also, he had alcohol on his breath, his eyes were glassy and his speech was slurred.

He then failed all of his field sobriety tests and was arrested for DUI, police said.

An investigation revealed Nieves’ vehicle had struck a pole at the intersection of Harlem and Cermak in North Riverside and he had left the scene without reporting the crash to police.

Nieves, who lives in the 5800 block of North Spaulding Avenue, later admitted to police that he had been drinking before driving, but he refused to take a breathalyzer. At the time of his arrest, Nieves’ license was suspended for an Aug. 22 DUI in Elmwood Park, police said. His criminal history also includes 19 prior arrests and convictions, including theft, assault, obstruction of justice, carious traffic offenses, burglary and damage to property.

A man was charged with DUI early Sunday after he was pulled over driving a vehicle missing front tires in Riverside. | Riverside police