Crime & Safety

Burr Ridge Teen in Deadly Head-on Palos Wreck Drunk & High: Prosecutor

The 19-year-old college student tested positive for cocaine, marijuana, alcohol, amphetamines and other drugs, a prosecutor said.

A Burr Ridge college student jailed after a deadly head-on crash hobbled into court on crutches and learned he would be going home.

Cook County Judge Carmen Aguilar set bail for 19-year-old Nicholas Puccinelli at $250,000 during a Thursday morning hearing at the Bridgeview Courthouse.

Puccinelli's attorney, Paul Moreschi of Oakbrook Terrace, said the teen's family was going to pay the $25,000 needed to secure his release from the Cook County Jail Thursday.

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"I'm confident that my client's family is going to post bond today," Moreschi said.

Puccinelli was arrested at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn following an early Tuesday crash on LaGrange Road near 105th Street in Palos Township. Puccinelli was heading south on LaGrange when he drove his 2002 GMC Denali into the northbound lane and crashed into a 2002 Nissan Sentra, police said. Cook County Assistant State's Attorney Amari Dawson said the impact sent the Sentra through a guard rail.

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The driver of the Sentra, John Anagnopoulos, 64, of Orland Park, also was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center. He died there.

During the Thursday hearing, Dawson said that Anagnopoulos was on his way to work when Puccinelli crashed into his car shortly after 3 a.m.

Tests performed on Puccinelli at the hospital showed his blood-alcohol level was at .215 percent, more than two-and-a-half times the legal limit for driving, Dawson said. Puccinelli also tested positive for cocaine, marijuana, amphetamines, barbiturates and other drugs, she said.

In a statement to police, Puccinelli acknowledged drinking and ingesting both marijuana and Xanax, Dawson said.

Moreschi told Judge Aguilar that Puccinelli is a full-time student at the College of DuPage and that he also works part-time at his father's caulking and sealant business. He asked for a bond the Puccinellis could make but conceded that "obviously, it's a very serious offense."

Aguilar ordered Puccinelli to wear a bracelet that will monitor the alcohol level in his perspiration after he is released from jail. The judge forbade him from drinking, driving or taking illegal drugs.

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