Felony DUI for drunken driver stuck on railroad, drinking a beer in Riverside

A Chicago man with no driver’s license was charged Thursday after his vehicle got stuck on a railroad crossing while he was driving drunk and drinking a beer in west suburban Riverside.

Esteban Garcia-Ortiz, 25, of the 2500 block of South Troy Avenue, was charged with felony counts of aggravated drunk driving, improper lane usage, no valid driver’s license, no vehicle insurance, driving with open alcohol and misdemeanor drunk driving after the wheels of his 2009 Nissan became lodged between the rails while he was driving drunk near the 100 block of East Quincy and Cowley Road, according to Riverside police.

Officers responded at 11:53 p.m. to reports of a car driving eastbound on the Burlington Northern railroad tracks and found Garcia-Oritz drinking a Modelo beer inside the vehicle, police said.

Garcia-Ortiz failed a roadside sobriety test and told police he thought he was driving on the street. He has never had a driver’s license, police said.

It took more than 40 minutes to remove the car from the tracks with a tow truck, said Riverside Police Chief Thomas Weitzel. No trains approached during that time.

This is the third time in two months that a drunk driver has gotten stuck on a railroad crossing in Riverside.