The Weekly Post public record for 10-10-24

NOTE: Charges are merely an accusation. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Police reports
• BELLEVUE – A Farmington man was injured in a two-vehicle crash near the Peoria international airport.

Gerold L. VanMiddlesworth was driving an eastbound 2013 Dodge Ram pickup truck about 6:15 a.m. Sept. 26 on Illinois Route 116 at Airport Road when his vehicle was struck by a 2020 Toyota Sienna driven by Zhu Xinguang of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., a Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report stated.

Zhu was turning from westbound Route 116 to southbound Airport Road. VanMiddlesworth said he had a green light to proceed through the intersection. A pair of witnesses confirmed VanMiddlesworth’s account. Zhu did not speak English and had a People’s Republic of China driver’s license.

VanMiddlesworth sustained a broken left-hand finger and was transported to OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria.

Paramedics checked Zhu, who refused transport. He was cited for having no valid driver’s license and for failure to yield at an intersection.

• ELMWOOD – An Elmwood-area resident was the victim of a scam, authorities stated. The Peoria County Sheriff’s Office was summoned about 2:30 p.m. Sept. 24 to a residence in the 20300 block of W. Tiber Creek Rd. regarding a deceptive-practices report.

A sheriff’s-office report about the case was heavily redacted, but it appeared to involve Publishers Clearing House and the Elmwood branch of Morton Community Bank. No suspect information was available.

• WEST PEORIA – An Edelstein woman was accused of possessing illicit drugs in her vehicle.

A Peoria County Sheriff’s Office deputy stopped Amy L. Gardner, 47, as she was driving a 2007 Ford Mustang about 1:45 a.m. Sept. 23 in the 3000 block of W. Farmington Rd. A headlight on Gardner’s westbound vehicle was out, according to a redacted sheriff’s-office report.

Gardner was accused of unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia, unlawful possession of methamphetamine, driving on a revoked license and a headlight violation. She was transported to the Peoria County Jail.

At 3:45 p.m. Oct. 4, Gardner was arrested for failure to appear in court, according to the sheriff’s office.

• DAHINDA – A 17-year-old boy required hospital treatment following a single-vehicle accident east of Dahinda.

The boy, a Happy Hollow resident, was driving a 2015 Chevrolet Sonic east on Knox Road 1450 North shortly after 8:45 p.m. Sept. 23 when he missed a curve near a T intersection, according to a Knox County Sheriff’s Office report. The vehicle struck a ditch and traveled about 50 feet into a cornfield.

Per the report, the boy said he was tuning the vehicle radio and didn’t realize the curve was that close. He complained about back pain. An ambulance transported him to OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria. The vehicle was to be towed. No damage estimate regarding the corn was available.

• TOULON – A Brimfield man wrecked his motorcycle after he fled from law-enforcement authorities in Toulon.

A Stark County Sheriff’s Office deputy tried to stop Justin R. Ludolph, 30, on Sept. 21 at Casey’s, 200 E. Main St., for not having the required safety equipment. But Ludolph left at high speed, then lost control of the motorcycle at Township Road 800 East and Illinois Routes 17 and 91.

Ludolph was transported by ambulance to OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria. He was cited for driving without necessary special equipment, driving without valid registration, attempting to elude a peace officer, driving without insurance and driving without the proper license classification.

• FARMINGTON – Farm equipment was reported stolen southeast of Farmington. Peoria County Sheriff’s Office deputies were dispatched about 12:30 p.m. Sept. 19 to the 900 block of S. Downs School Rd., on a report of three men loading property onto a trailer parked at a vacant house. The report about the incident was heavily redacted.
A deputy noted tire tracks leading to the northwest side of the property. No suspect information was available.

• KICKAPOO – A Peoria man admitted fault regarding a two-vehicle collision south of Kickapoo, according to authorities.

Shortly before 5:30 p.m. Sept. 17, Daniel A. Edwards was driving a 2018 Mazda3 south on Kickapoo-Edwads Road when he turned left onto the eastbound entrance ramp of Interstate 74 and into the path of a northbound 2017 Ford Fusion, a Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report stated.

Rachel B. Hartstirn of Fairview was the other driver. Edwards said he didn’t see Hartstirn’s vehicle as he began to turn. Neither driver was injured, according to the report. Both vehicles sustained disabling damage and were towed.

• EDWARDS – A downed power line caused a fire in a field east of Edwards, authorities stated.

Peoria County Sheriff’s Office deputies were dispatched shortly before 3:30 p.m. Sept. 17 to the 8800 block of Illinois Route 8. There they found a small fire spreading at a slow rate, according to a sheriff’s-office report.

Brimfield firefighters doused the flames. Ameren Illinois responded and turned off the power.

• HANNA CITY – A Brimfield man was cited for multiple crimes following a single-vehicle accident southwest of Hanna City.

A Peoria County Sheriff’s Office deputy found a 2006 Dodge pickup truck about 6:15 a.m. Sept. 15 in a ditch at Smithville and Eden roads. The driver, later identified as 26-year-old Jace C. Sandhagen, was not at the scene, according to a sheriff’s-office report.
When contacted later, Sandhagen said he was driving south on Eden Road at high speed, disregarded a stop sign and crashed. The vehicle broke the post of a Peoria County highway sign and sustained front-end damage.

Sandhagen said he wasn’t injured, the report stated. He received citations for leaving the scene of an accident, failure to reduce speed, disregarding a stop sign and transporting an open container of alcohol. The vehicle was towed.

• HANNA CITY – Auto parts were stolen from a Hanna City-area man’s garage, and a vehicle parked inside was damaged.

The incidents were reported about 9:30 a.m. Sept. 14 in the 11000 block of Illinois Route 116, a redacted Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report stated. The victim said his vehicle, a 2013 Ram pickup truck, sustained a few scratches and a dent.

• KICKAPOO – No injuries were reported following a two-vehicle head-on collision in a driveway north of Kickapoo. About 3:15 p.m. Sept. 14, Mildred S. Korth of Peoria turned a 2022 Hyundai Tucson west into the driveway, in the 11800 block of N. Evans Mill Rd. The vehicle then struck an eastbound U.S. Postal Service truck driven by Jacob J. Brackett of Princeville.

Brackett said he honked his horn as a warning, according to a Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report. Korth said overhanging trees blocked her view. Both vehicles were drivable.

• TRIVOLI – Shortly after 6 a.m. Sept. 20, Cassandra N. Gauf of Peoria was driving a westbound 2018 Kia Sorento in the 19600 block of Illinois Route 116 west of Trivoli when the vehicle struck a deer that emerged from the south. Gauf didn’t indicate she was injured, according to a Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report. The vehicle sustained significant front-end damage but was drivable.

• BARTONVILLE – About 5:45 a.m. Sept. 19, Paul S. Schaffer of Hanna City was driving a 2014 Subaru Outback south in the 2700 block of Cameron Lane west of Bartonville when the vehicle struck a deer. Schaffer wasn’t injured, according to a Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report. The vehicle sustained front-end damage but was drivable.

• GALESBURG – These were among calls to which the Knox County Sheriff’s Office responded between Sept. 15-21: stray dog, Yates City; suspicious vehicle, Dahinda; driving complaint, Williamsfield; domestic dispute, Williamsfield.