Police say the driver whose car struck a police building Sunday evening in northwest suburban Arlington Heights may have been under the influence of cocaine at the time of the crash.
The 44-year-old man, whose name was not released, faces charges of reckless driving and driving under the influence of drugs, as well as multiple traffic citations, following the Nov. 11 crash, according to a Thursday statement from Arlington Heights police.
At 5:28 p.m., officers were called to their new police facility, 200 E. Sigwalt St., to respond to a single vehicle crash, police said. First responders pulled out the driver, who had been trapped in his vehicle, and took him to Northwest Community Hospital in critical condition. His condition improved to fair on Thursday.
Investigators initially said he was a resident of Brookhaven, Georgia, but determined later he had moved to Arlington Heights in August.
Officers now believe the car, a black 2015 Volkswagen GTI, was traveling west on David Street at 104 miles per hour when it struck a curb, police said. It flipped and careened west on Sigwalt Street until crashing into the front of the police facility.
Drugs, including cocaine and possibly prescription medication, were a factor in his crash, which officers believe was unintentional, police said.
The date of completion for the police building’s construction has been slightly delayed.
