Driver in crash - 2 prior speeding tix

Gus Philpott
Woodstock Advocate
July 29, 2010

One of the drivers in the crash a week ago involving three cars, including a McHenry County Sheriff's deputy, had two speeding tickets in 2009. As a result of her driving on July 21, she now has one more ticket related to speed and a Fail to Yield to Emergency Vehicle ticket.

Theresa Alcazar, 29, was ticketed by the Bull Valley PD officer and has a court date of August 13 at 8:30AM in Room 103.

On April 5, 2009, Alcazar was cited for speeding 11-14MPH over the limit by the Fox River Grove PD. She paid $125 in fine, court costs and fees and was ordered to a 4-hour traffic school.

On September 10, 2009, Alcazar was cited for speeding 15-20MPH over the limit by the McHenry County Sheriff's Department. She paid $75 for that one.

Now, ten months later, with her cruise control set on 60MPH in a 55MPH zone, she piled into the back of a car and pushed it into the oncoming lane, where it hit a squad car on an emergency run.

I guess the positive part of her driving is that maybe she had learned from those tickets, since she was driving only 5MPH over the 55MPH limit. But what else was going on that she didn't react in time to avoid smashing into the rear of a Pontiac Grand Am in front of her?

Sure hope she had good insurance, and well above the Illinois minimum required liability limit of $25,000. No doubt she'll get sued for totaling two vehicles and hurting at least two people, Deputy Kyle Oligney and the driver of the other car, Lida Zelaya.

This might be a good time to review the limits of your own liability insurance and to talk with your own agent about what is adequate liability insurance today.