O’Fallon man hits officer with a chair after DUI-related crash, police say

A Coulterville police officer was struck with a chair after responding to a DUI-related crash with injuries near Illinois 13, police said.

Charges are pending against an O’Fallon man and his name isn’t being published until the charges are filed in Randolph County.

The man “was combative” with officers at the scene on Sunday, Police Chief Jason Schlesinger said in a news release.

The pending charges include possession of adult-use cannabis in a motor vehicle, driving under the influence, improper lane usage, failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident, damage to property, resisting arrest, concealing physical evidence and aggravated battery of a peace officer.

Police gave this account of what happened:

The man was driving west on Illinois 13, which is also known as Grant Street in Coulterville, in a Chevrolet Silverado when his vehicle left the roadway and struck a wooden pole at the Hair Station Salon.

The truck then went through a field, jumped Nashville Road and hit another vehicle in the Pistol City Restaurant in the 500 block of East Grant Street in Coulterville at around 5:45 p.m. The other vehicle belongs to an employee of the restaurant.

A responding officer was struck by a chair and the man was taken into custody when additional officers arrived.

The driver and his female passenger were both injured in the accident and transported to a regional hospital. The man was later transferred to a St. Louis area hospital, Schlesinger said.

The Randolph County Sheriff’s Department along with the Sparta and Steeleville police departments were all on the scene with the Coulterville Police Department.

This story was originally published March 22, 2022 at 5:11 PM.