ORLAND PARK

Dec. 18: Shernita M. Harris, 30, of the first block of Quincy Street in Riverside, was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, improper lane use and failure to reduce speed to avoid accident. Witnesses told police that Harris’ car, a red Buick Lacrosse, struck the median near 147th Street and LaGrange Road and rolled over, according to the report. No one was hit in the process and Harris was not reported injured, police said. She did, however, smell of alcohol, failed field sobriety tests and showed alcohol in her system on a Breathalyzer test, police said.

Dec. 18: Stephen D. Peters, 44, no address released, was charged with driving under the influence, illegal transportation of alcohol and speeding. Police said they stopped Peters in the 8400 block of 159th Street around 3:15 a.m. for speeding and swerving. When asked to perform field sobriety tests, Peters said that his bad eyes, bad legs, bad lungs and recent ingestion of NyQuil would prevent him, according to the report. He was arrested for smelling of alcohol and for the large plastic mug containing alcohol found on the car floor, police said.

Dec. 17: Heather A. Michalec, 27, of the 9200 block of Magnolia Avenue in Mokena, was charged with driving under the influence, improper lane use and driving an uninsured motor vehicle. Police said they stopped Michael’s car in the 15500 block of LaGrange Road around 11:30 p.m. after an anonymous caller described a car weaving between lanes. She refused a Breathalyzer but failed field sobriety tests, according to police.

Dec. 12: Jose F. Hernandez, 36, of the 900 block of Poe Street in Manteno, was charged with the driving under the influence, failure to reduce speed, improper lane usage and obstructing a peace officer. Police said Hernandez crossed into the wrong lane of traffic in the 11500 block of 159th Street around 2 a.m. and hit a semi-truck tractor. Though both the driver of the truck and a passenger in Hernandez’s car identified him, Hernandez denied being behind the wheel at the time of the crash, saying he was lying down in the back, asleep, according to the report. He gave a generic description of another man, police said. But bruises on his body caused by a seat-belt were inconsistent with his other-man story, said a doctor at Palos Community Hospital, where Hernandez submitted blood and urine samples, police said.

NEW LENOX

Jan. 1: Joseph A. Leal, 54, of Chicago Heights, was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, driving without insurance and speeding. Police said Leal was driving too fast for the rainy weather. He was taken to Will County Jail.

Jan. 1: John M. Stercay, 22, of the 700 block of Schoolgate Road in New Lenox, was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, speeding and driving without insurance. Police stopped Stercay at Gougar and Maple roads at about 2:20 a.m. and he was released after posting bond.

Dec. 31: Ivan Astorga, 25, of Joliet, was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, leaving a hit-and-run accident, driving without insurance and speeding. Police responded to a hit-and-run accident at Route 6 and Interstate 355. No one in the other car was injured, police said. Astorga was tracked down near Gougar Road and Route 30, where police determined he was under the influence. Astorga was taken to Will County Jail.

Dec. 25: A Yorkville man convicted of killing a 10-year-old girl in a 1999 DUI accident was charged with driving under the influence again after police picked him up near New Lenox. Glen R. Higginbotham Jr., 33, was charged on Dec. 25, 2011, with aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol, improper lane usage, driving with unsafe tires, leaving the scene of an accident and driving with a revoked license. Read more on New Lenox Patch.

HOMEWOOD

Dec. 31: Danielle Jackson, 33, of the 18100 block of San Diego Avenue in Homewood, was charged with driving under the influence and speeding. Police said they smelled alcohol after stopping Jackson’s car in the 3100 block of 183rd Street around 4 a.m. for driving 51 in a 35 mph zone. She was arrested and later failed a Breathalyzer exam, according to the report.

Dec. 29: Patrick Akai, 23, of the 1400 block of Linden Road in Homewood, was charged with DUI and speeding. Police said they stopped Akai in the 18000 block of Halsted Street around 1:45 a.m. for driving in 45 in a 30 mph zone. He was arrested after failing a Breathlyzer exam, according to the report.

Dec. 28: Jeffrey Forstall, 30, of the 18400 block of Cowing Court in Homewood, was charged with driving under the influence, improper lane usage and illegal squeaking of tires. Police said Forstall was driving on the wrong side of the road when he nearly collided with a patrol car and fled away, squealing his tires around a corner. He was eventually stopped near Dixie Highway and Olive Road around 1:15 a.m. Police said he smelled of alcohol and was arrested, police said.

Dec. 26: Sherrie L. Ordaz, 39, of the 6600 block of 165th Street in Tinley Park, was charged with driving under the influence and improper lane usage. Police said they stopped Ordaz’s car near Dixie Highway and Cedar Road around 11:30 p.m. after it drove off the roadway, struck a curb and fishtailed. She was arrested after failing breath and field sobriety tests, according to the report.

CHICAGO HEIGHTS

Dec. 29: Felix Stallings, 60, of the 22800 block of East Wind Drive in Park Forest was arrested and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol after he was stopped near the intersection of 14th Street and Division Street, according to the report.

Dec. 28: Stephen Simpson, 21, of the 300 block of Ottawa Street in Park Forest, was arrested and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol after he was stopped for not being able to stay in single lane on Chicago Road, police said. When asked to roll his window down, Simpson lowered his rear window and tried to hand his driver's license to police through the closed front window, according to the report. Simpson took field sobriety tests which all indicated impairment, police said.

Dec. 27: Carl D. Burse Jr., 35, of the 13000 block of Seeley Avenue in Blue Island, was arrested and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol after he was stopped near the intersection of 14th Street and Ashland Avenue in Chicago Heights, according to police.

TINLEY PARK

Jan. 1: An officer stopped a driver not wearing his seat belt near the intersection of 175th Street and Harlem Avenue in Tinley Park. Police said Joseph Bukowski Jr., 50, of the 7700 block of Bristol Park Drive in Tinley Park, smelled like alcohol when he was stopped around 3 a.m. Bukowski failed field sobriety tests and blew a .094 on the Breathalyzer at 3:25 a.m., police said. He was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, driving under the influence of alcohol with a blood-alcohol content greater than 0.08 and failure to wear a seat belt. He told police he recently drank two pitchers of beer.

Dec. 16: A Tinley Park man was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, after police said they witnessed him drive off the road and narrowly avoid a stop sign, before stopping in the middle of 160th and Lockwood. The driver, Hipolito Escalone, 31, of the 17100 block of 71st Avenue, tried hiding his intoxication by popping a piece of gum before stepping out of his car for field sobriety tests, according to police. They said he failed the tests, and was charged with driving off the roadway, operating an uninsured motor vehicle, driving without a valid driver's license, and driving under the influence of alcohol. Bail was set at $3,000 and he's expected in court Jan. 27.

PALOS HILLS

Dec. 30: Radoslaw Mamczur, 27, of Palos Hills, was charged with drunken driving, transportation of open liquor and illegal lane usage. He was stopped around 7 p.m. in the 10500 block of Roberts Road after he was observed, "swerving all over the road," police said. He failed field sobriety tests, police said.

Police report information is provided by local police departments. Charges are not evidence of guilt. They are a record of police actions on a given day, and persons charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court. If you or a family member are charged or cited and the case is subsequently adjudicated, we encourage you to notify the editor. We will verify and report the outcome.