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| Frank Menendez (inset) is accused of leaving the scene of the collision at Damen and Irving Park. | CPD; Multiplottr |
A Lakeview man is accused of drunken driving and walking away from a crash that left a motorcyclist critically injured in North Center on Sunday evening.
Frank Menendez, 52, of the 1600 block of West Byron is charged with felony aggravated DUI and felony leaving the scene of an accident involving injury or death, a CPD spokesperson said. A citation for making an improper left turn was also issued.
Menendez was driving his 2001 Jeep Cherokee southeast on Lincoln Avenue around 7:50 p.m. when he made a left turn onto Irving Park Road and struck a motorcyclist who was traveling in the northwest on Lincoln, police said.
Witnesses told police that the driver fled the scene on foot, leaving the Jeep behind with a dog inside. Cops arrested Menendez a short time later at his home.
The 31-year-old motorcyclist is in critical condition at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center. A woman went to the crash scene to pick up the abandoned dog on the driver’s behalf, a witness said.
Bail for Menendez was set at $15,000.
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story misspelled Menendez’s last name based on erroneous information provided by Chicago police.
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