Alleged drunken driver crashes Jeep into Wilmette storefront

An SUV crashed through the front doors of a Wilmette business on Halloween night, Sunday, Oct. 31.

Emergency personnel responded at 8:54 p.m. to Images Med Spa, 505 Skokie Blvd., to find a 2012 silver Jeep SUV inside the building at the northwest corner of Wilmette Avenue and Skokie Boulevard. 

The business was closed at the time and no one was seriously injured. 

According to a Wilmette Police press release witnesses told authorities the driver of the vehicle fled the scene before being stopped by a Wilmette officer just a block away. 

No passengers were in the car, police said.

Police said the individual was transported to an area hospital and then returned to police who arrested the driver for driving under the influence of alcohol.

As a matter of policy, The Record does not report the names of arrestee’s upon most traffic arrests, including DUI.  

Representatives of Images Med Spa did not immediately return messages from The Record.

The Jeep remained inside the building as of press time, police said, while village personnel — a building inspector and structural engineer — analyzed the damage to the building. 

According to the Village, an engineer “recommended that the entrance be shored up and the ceiling be exposed to make sure no structural damage was done to the roof system. Once that is done and verified the car will be able to be removed and the owner’s contractor will seek a permit to repair the structure.”

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