The suspect that fled after hitting a man with his van in West Chicago has turned himself in, according to the West Chicago Police Department.
Eulalio Garcia, of West Chicago, arrived at the police station Wednesday and admitted to being the driver of the white minivan that struck 69-year-old Jose "Guadalupe" Ballines on Friday.
The incident occurred around 4:30 p.m. in the 1000 block of Joliet Street. A neighbor's security camera captured the shocking moment the van hit Ballines, who was mowing his lawn in West Chicago, before fleeing the scene of the crash.
“It shows him lying on the ground for about three minutes before anybody stopped to help him,” said neighbor Lettecia Salinas. “I thought it was pretty sad.”
The footage shows Ballines appearing to be lifeless, but minutes later, he gets up on his own. Family members took him to the hospital, where doctors say he was treated for a few bruises.
“I didn’t know anything about me, nothing, nothing,” Ballines said in Spanish, with tears in his eyes. “I was laying over there. Threw me far. And my shoe landed over there.”
Garcia told police that while he was traveling northbound on Joliet Street, he veered off the roadway, causing him to drive over a curb. According to police, Garcia said he was unaware that he had struck a pedestrian.
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Authorities said Garcia was cited for failure to render aid or give information regarding a personal injury crash, a misdemeanor.
He faces up to 365 days in jail and up to $1,000 in fines. Garcia is scheduled to appear in DuPage County Court on June 21.
