Driver charged with leaving crash
By JILLIAN DUCHNOWSKI - jduchnowski@nwherald.com
WOODSTOCK – A 26-year-old man accused of leaving a car accident that covered three small children with broken glass left something else behind – his license plate, police said.
Michael J. Falco of Downers Grove is facing a felony count of leaving the scene of a personal injury accident, which is punishable with between one and three years in prison. The collision happened at 11:53 a.m. Saturday, but Falco allegedly did not report the accident within 30 minutes.
Mary J. Smith was driving west on McCullom Lake Road in McHenry when the passenger side of her 2005 Dodge Caravan was struck by Falco’s 1994 Dodge Ram pickup, McHenry Deputy Police Chief John Jones said. Falco had pulled out of the Wal-Mart near McCullom Lake and Richmond roads.
A witness followed him into a nearby apartment complex and then past the accident scene before the witness lost him, Jones said.
“What he didn’t know was he had left his license plate from his truck at the scene,” Jones said.
Smith and her children, ages 1, 3 and 5, were taken to Centegra Hospital – McHenry, to check for any injuries. One child was cut by a piece of glass, Jones said.
Falco called police from his girlfriend’s home in Johnsburg about 2 p.m. Saturday and was taken into custody. He posted $1,000 bond Tuesday and is next due in court Oct. 30. He also was cited for failure to yield on a private drive.
