NOTE: Charges are merely an accusation. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Police reports
• PEORIA – A Princeville-area woman was arrested after she abandoned a damaged vehicle on a Peoria thoroughfare, then claimed she wasn’t the driver, according to authorities.
Peoria police responded about noon May 27 to the 8800 block of N. Orange Prairie Rd., where they found a 2012 Nissan Leaf stopped in the farthest-right southbound lane. The vehicle’s front passenger-side tire was deflated and the rear passenger-side rim was damaged, a police report stated.
A witness reported a woman fled the scene on foot into nearby woods. The woman, later identified as 60-year-old Stephanie D. Mathews, was located on a trail. She told police she was a passenger in the vehicle, the driver hit a curb and someone picked him up to take him to work.
Mathews’ story was false, according to police. Mathews was accused of failure to remain at an accident scene, driving on a suspended license, operating an uninsured vehicle, improper lane use and failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident.
• OAK RUN – A two-vehicle crash at an Oak Run intersection resulted in a neck injury for an Altona man.
Dale G. Grawe, 72, was driving a westbound 2013 Ford Explorer shortly after 5:15 p.m. May 30 on Lakeview Road North when at Brentwood Circle the vehicle collided with a southbound 2025 Mazda3, according to a Knox County Sheriff’s Office report.
The other driver was Deric K. Sakaguchi, 39, of Gulfport, Miss. His vehicle was pushed off the pavement into a ditch. There are no traffic-control devices at the intersection.
Grawe declined medical treatment. Sakaguchi was uninjured. Both vehicles sustained disabling damage and were towed.
• FARMINGTON – Both drivers refused medical treatment following a two-vehicle wreck east of Farmington.
Britt A. Reeves of Roseville was driving a westbound 2019 Chevrolet truck at 5 p.m. May 27 in the 24600 block of W. Farmington Rd. when the vehicle rear-ended a 2024 Volvo sedan, according to a Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report. Matthew N. Frauenhoffer of Farmington was the other driver.
Reeves said he was returning home from work when he fell asleep. Frauenhoffer said he was slowing because his vehicle was approaching Farmington city limits. The Volvo sustained major damage and was towed. The Chevy sustained moderate damage but was drivable.
• PRINCEVILLE – A Princeville teenager and his passenger sustained minor injuries when their vehicle overturned on a village thoroughfare.
At 4:30 p.m. May 27, the boy was driving a northbound 2025 Nissan sedan on Edwards Avenue at South Street when animals ran onto the pavement from the west. The driver swerved to miss them and overcorrected, according to a Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report.
The vehicle flipped onto its top. Both the driver and his passenger, also a boy, were able to get out of the vehicle. After Akron-Princeville ambulance personnel checked both boys, their parents signed a refusal for medical treatment. The vehicle sustained disabling damage and was towed.
• FARMINGTON – A Peoria motorcyclist was cited for multiple vehicular offenses in Farmington.
Landrean D. Jones, 33, was aboard a westbound 2006 Suzuki and was using the center turn lane to pass vehicles about 7:30 p.m. May 26 on Fort Street, according to a Farmington police report. An officer pursued Jones, who stopped at a residence in the 100 block of W. Court St.
Jones said he was having a mechanical issue with the motorcycle. He also said he did not have vehicle insurance, nor his license. Jones was accused of improper lane use, driving with a suspended license, driving a motorcycle without a proper license and operating an uninsured motor vehicle.
The motorcycle was impounded. A Fulton County Circuit Court appearance for Jones was scheduled for June 20 in Lewistown.
• WILLIAMSFIELD – A South Carolina man was driving 29 mph above the speed limit on Interstate 74 south of Williamsfield, according to authorities. Bill Holloway, 63, of Myrtle Beach was behind the wheel of a Dodge Charger a Knox County Sheriff’s Office deputy stopped shortly before 7:15 a.m. May 23 on the interstate at mile marker 63.
According to a sheriff’s-office report, Holloway was driving 99 mph. The speed limit is 70 mph.
It took about 6 miles before the deputy was able to stop Holloway, who was cited for careless driving/speeding. The vehicle was impounded.
• PRINCEVILLE – Brake failure might have led to a two-vehicle wreck at an intersection south of Princeville, according to authorities.
Shortly before 3:30 p.m. May 22, Lindsay K. Perring of Princeville was driving a 2004 Toyota Sequoia east on Akron Road when it collided with a 2025 Chevrolet Trax headed south on Princeville-Jubilee Road, a Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report stated. The other driver was Lyndsey M. Good of Peoria Heights.
Perring said she attempted to brake, but the Sequoia did not slow. Akron-Princeville firefighters noted brake fluid on the pavement, according to the report.
One of Good’s two passengers, a female, complained about chest and head pain and was transported to OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria. Otherwise, no injuries were reported. Both vehicles sustained significant damage and were towed.
• FARMINGTON – A Farmington man was cited for disorderly conduct following an incident in front of a local residence.
A 68-year-old man said Caine D. Woods, 49, was in front of his residence about 7:45 a.m. May 15 in the 600 block of W. Fort St. taking photographs of the parkway alongside an adjacent property. According to the victim, Woods told him not to mow the parkway, then threatened him.
Farmington police had issued ordinance violations to the property owner, a 52-year-old area woman, regarding tall grass and illegal no-trespassing signs. The neighbor mowed the parkway, apparently. Woods was located two days after the incident and received a citation.
• EDWARDS – Shortly before 5:30 a.m. May 27, Jacob P. Woerner of Trivoli was driving a southbound 2012 Chevrolet Impala in the 3800 block of N. Taylor Rd. south of Edwards when the vehicle struck a deer. Woerner declined medical aid, according to a Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report. The vehicle sustained major damage but was drivable.
• ELMWOOD – Chief Aaron Bean reported the following Elmwood Police Department activity for May: six stops, 11 warnings, 11 reports, two open doors and one ordinance violation.”
• FARMINGTON – Chief Chris Darsham reported the following Farmington Police Department activity for May: 285 business checks, 3,221 building checks, four crashes handled, four property crimes, 16 traffic tickets, 14 ordinance violations, seven crimes against people, five miscellaneous, 25 traffic stops, seven arrests, 24 reports completed, 265 total calls and 16 calls to assist other police departments.
• GALESBURG – These were among calls to which the Knox County Sheriff’s Office responded between May 25-31: hit and run, Williamsfield; fire, Farmington; order-of-protection violation, Williamsfield; suspicious person, Yates City.
