Lemont Police Contacted by Passenger in Hit-and-Run Case; Identity of Driver Still Unknown
The black 2007 Lexus that crashed on Main Street last week still had dealer plates, according to Lemont Police Chief Kevin Shaughnessy.
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UPDATED: Aug. 7, 2 p.m.
Lemont Police Chief Kevin Shaughnessy said he's still confident detectives will track down last week's hit-and-run driver, despite the "complicated circumstances" surrounding the crash.
As of Monday afternoon, police were still searching for the driver of a black 2007 Lexus that fled the scene after crashing into a guard rail and speed sign on Main Street on July 29.
READ: Lemont Police Search for Driver in Main Street Hit-and-Run
The Lexus was heading west on Main Street at approximately 6:15 a.m. when it struck a guard rail and speed sign on the south side of the road, just east of Fourth Street, police said.
The car rolled, ending up in the westbound lane of Main Street facing east.
The front end of the Lexus sustained extensive damage. Police said droplets found near the scene led them to believe the driver was injured and ran into nearby Canadian National railroad tracks.
Detective Sgt. Jerry Lehmacher said Tuesday that police were contacted by an attorney who claimed his client was the passenger in the vehicle, but would not share the identity of the driver.
"We're having a hard time with this case," Lehmacher said. "We've been in contact with someone who claims to be the passenger, but at this point we're still investigating."
Making things more complicated, Shaughnessy said, is the fact that the Lexus still had dealership license plates.
"It's not as cut and dry as running the plates and identifying a driver," he said. "With the dealer plates, we have a number of possibilities."
Shaughnessy said he's still hopeful detectives will be able to find the driver.
"We take hit-and-runs very seriously, so we'll continue to follow every lead until we find the person responsible," he said.
Anyone with information on the accident should contact the Lemont Police Department at 630-257-2229.
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Lemont Police Department
14600 W 127th St, Lemont, IL -
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Village of Lemont
418 Main St, Lemont, IL
Lemont Resident
9:27 pm on Tuesday, August 7, 2012
So, are we to believe that the passenger could not identify the driver....are you kidding us....OMG.. what a joke this is........would not be surprised that so called passenger turns out to be a driver.....
Magnolia "Ms. Laurie Dufrene"
10:17 pm on Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Maybe it was a car salesman's "kid"who decided to play cool and take daddy or mommy's car for a spin ??? So then no one wants to let out any cats from that type of bag.. Parent would be in trouble and the driver ??? Hum they can only run so long..
JEG
8:08 am on Wednesday, August 8, 2012
To Lemont Resident, maybe we read a different article but the one I read said the passenger would NOT identify the driver . It didnt say he couldn't .
Lemont Resident
7:55 pm on Thursday, August 9, 2012
JEG... you are absolutely right, I stand corrected.
Dwayne
8:26 am on Wednesday, August 8, 2012
So here's the deal. If the car had Dealer Plates on them, why can't the police track down the dealership through the plates. The dealership have to keep records on who takes which vehicle off the lot. I'm not a cop, nor a detective, however, I can think this through and come up with new leads. If the dealership refuses to work with the LPD, then they can get a search warrant based on the fact that the dealership is hindering a police investigation. They can also subpeona the "passenger" and serve him with a warrant. This person of interest can be held in contempt if they do not cooperate with the LPD.
I'm starting to think that this "passenger" happens to be the driver.
Mary Van
8:38 am on Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Hello............the police aren't going to give folks all the details, especially if that detail can throw off the investigation. There are things they can release to the press, and things they can't. Wake up folks.....
Marie Markowski
1:15 pm on Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Mary, apparently too many folks don't "get that". ;)
Lemont Citizen
9:58 am on Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Should be an easy one to solve. Plenty of clues. What happened to the other comments that had been posted to this article previously?
Lemont Resident
7:59 pm on Thursday, August 9, 2012
Only 8 comments... come on people we need to keep talking and get this person/driver off our streets. This person did not come from South side of Chicago
This is a local car and local driver.....
Rick
10:19 am on Tuesday, September 4, 2012
So did they ever find the driver ? Almost a month know and nothing written about it anywhere . Must have been a person that has family in high places
Linda Ozbolt
2:39 pm on Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Rick, Lemont Police said today that the incident remains an ongoing investigation. We will update readers when there is a break in the case. Thanks for asking!