Woman charged with DUI after vehicle plunges into Elgin retention pond

A woman has been charged with DUI after she crashed her vehicle into a retention pond Thursday morning in northwest suburban Elgin.

Hollyann Pilcher, 19, faces a Class A misdemeanor charge of driving under the influence and several traffic citations, according to Elgin police.

Emergency crews responded shortly before 6 a.m. and found the vehicle partially submerged in the retention pond near the intersection of Randall Road and College Green Drive, according to the Elgin Fire Department.

Pilcher had been driving south on Randall, when she veered off the roadway, struck a light pole on the southwest corner of the intersection, then crashed her vehicle into the pond, police said.

Pilcher escaped safely, but told emergency crews that her 20-year-old passenger was missing, police and the Elgin Fire Department said. Divers from nearby fire departments then searched the pond for the passenger.

It was later determined that no one else was in the vehicle at the time of the crash, the fire department said. The purported passenger was located blocks away from the accident at a friend’s home. No injuries were reported.

Anyone with information on the crash is asked to call police at (847) 289-2660.