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Spic runs down highway worker
UPDATE: May 3, 2010...
UPDATED 4 May 2010. Spic asked for jail release.
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local/indiana&id=7415124April 30, 2010 (PORTER, Ind.) (WLS) -- A road worker is in critical condition after he was run down in a highway construction zone early Friday morning.
The driver took off but the suspect is now charged in connection with the hit and run. A tip to police helped officials track down the vehicle they believe was involved in the incident.
Roger Sadler is the second highway worker to be rundown in recent months in northwest Indiana. He was hit around 3 o'clock Friday morning on Interstate 94 near Burns Harbor.
Criminal charges were filed against Ricardo Bustos who police say is responsible for hitting a worker during the hit-and-run accident. The 21-year-old faces numerous charges including leaving the scene of a serious bodily injury accident and leaving the scene of a serious bodily accident while intoxicated. He has two counts of felony cause against him related to a prior DUI conviction.
Investigators say the accident happened in a well-marked westbound construction zone after the eastbound driver made an illegal u-turn in a crossover where Sadler was working. Police say the car hit the married father of two, carrying him for about 35 feet before he was thrown off. The driver then fled the scene with a construction barrel caught underneath his vehicle.
Bustos will head to court next week.
The hospital says Sadler remains in critical condition.
UPDATE: May 3, 2010...
http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/...eing-hit-on-i-94-by-alleged-drunk-driver.htmlThe road construction worker injured in a hit-and-run accident on I-94 in Indiana died Sunday.
Roger Sadler, 49, of Michigan City, was pronounced dead at 5:40 p.m. Sunday at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's office.
On Friday, Sadler was filling cracks along westbound I-94 near Burns Harbor around 3 a.m. when he was hit by a red Chevrolet Cavalier that fled the scene, according to Indiana State Police.
He was initially taken to Porter Hospital in Valparaiso in critical condition but was later airlifted to Loyola University Medical Center.
The Chevrolet was later found in East Chicago and damage to the car confirmed it was the vehicle that struck Sadler, ISP Sgt. Ann Wojas said. Two people were interviewed and a man was later arrested, she said. The other person was not charged.
Ricardo F. Bustos, 21, of East Chicago, Ind., was charged Friday afternoon with four felony counts of drunken driving and leaving the scene, according to Porter County (Ind.) Prosecutor Brian Gensel.
Bustos drove to his grandmother's house after the crash by looking out a side window because the windshield was broken, according to a probable cause affidavit. He then went inside and fell asleep on a couch, leaving a friend in the passenger seat of the car.
Bustos' mother called police when she noticed the car had extensive damage to the windshield and was concerned it had been involved in a serious crash, the affidavit states.
East Chicago police and ISP troopers responded and noticed Bustos had bloodshot, watery eyes, slurred speech and slow manual dexterity. He was taken to St. Catherine Hospital for a blood draw, where his blood alcohol concentration registered at .124, the affidavit states.
Bustos told the trooper he "drank way too much" before driving home and went on to say he struck a construction barrel and left the scene, according to the affidavit. His friend told police they were at a club but were kicked out after "drinking too much." They then went on to other bars before Bustos drove home.
Bustos told police "I messed up and I should have turned myself in," according to the affidavit.
Sadler was working in a temporary construction zone with the left and middle lanes closed, and the area was well posted with message boards, arrow boards, construction barrels and road signage, according to an ISP release.
He was facing west when the eastbound Chevrolet went into a crossover marked with a no U-turn sign just east of where Sadler was, according to ISP. The Chevrolet then made a U-turn and hit Sadler, who was carried 35 feet before being thrown from the car and the Chevrolet continued west without stopping.
Sadler worked for Moonrock Inc. out of Rome City, Ind., the release said.
Bustos faces one felony count each of of leaving the scene of a serious bodily injury accident, leaving the scene while intoxicated, operating while intoxicated causing serious bodily injury with a prior conviction, and OWI causing serious bodily injury with a prior conviction within five years, Gensel said in an e-mail.
He will be held in the Porter County Jail in Valparaiso pending an initial hearing and setting of bond.
Westbound traffic on I-94 was completely closed for more than two hours, but was reopened about 5:30 a.m, the release said.
Illinois State Police are investigating.
UPDATED 4 May 2010. Spic asked for jail release.
http://www.myfoxchicago.com/dpp/news/metro/20100504-charges-hit-run-i94-workerValparaiso, Ind. - A northwest Indiana man accused of killing a highway construction worker while driving drunk wanted to get out of jail Monday to take college finals, the Post-Tribune is reporting.
That didn't sit well with the judge.
"You've got to be kidding me," Porter County Judge William Alexa responded.
Ricardo F. Bustos, 21, of East Chicago faces up to 20 years in prison for the accident that led to the death of Roger D. Sadler , 49, of Michigan City, who died Sunday at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood.
Bustos had asked to be let out on recognizance rather than paying part of his $30,000 bond. The judge denied the request.
Alexa was also not sympathetic when Bustos noted he'd been on his college's honor roll three times and wanted to get out of jail to take finals.
He told Bustos that Sadler would probably have liked to go home to his family and to go to work.
Also at the hearing Monday, some of the five charges against Bustos were modified to higher-level felonies with longer incarceration penalties because of the death.
He is next scheduled to appear in court July 2 for an omnibus hearing.