Motorist charged with DUI, Scott’s Law violation in I-90 wreck, state police says
A motorist without a valid driver’s license who veered off Interstate 90 and slammed into a state trooper’s squad car near Schaumburg was charged with a Scott’s Law violation early Saturday, according to Illinois State Police.
Martin A. Estanez Landa, 26, was also charged with aggravated driving under the influence, reckless driving, failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident and improper lane usage, an Illinois State Police statement said.
The trooper, an acting master sergeant, was inside his squad car with its emergency lights activated behind an abandoned, stolen vehicle when the crash happened about 1:40 a.m. on the I-90, just east of Route 53.
Estanez Landa, who was eastbound in a gray Honda, failed to yield to the trooper and “veered off the roadway onto the left shoulder” and rear-ended the squad car, which caused the squad to ram the stolen car, the statement said.
Estanez Landa, of Elgin, was taken to an area hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening and the master sergeant was not hurt.
Scott’s Law requires drivers to slow down and move over when they encounter a parked emergency vehicle with its lights activated or any vehicle with its hazard lights on.
Also known as the “Move Over Law,” Scott’s Law has been on the books since 2001 and is named for Chicago Fire Department Lt. Scott Gillen, who was struck and killed by a drunken driver while working at the scene of a crash on the Dan Ryan Expressway in December 2000.
So far this year, there have been 20 Illinois State Police squad cars hit and 12 troopers injured during Scott’s Law violation crashes, according to the statement.
