Minooka resident charged in hit-and-run crash that seriously injured man
By Brian Stanley bstanley@stmedianetwork.com November 23, 2011 7:30PM
Channahon police say Donald A. Wood, 50, hit a 42-year-old man with this car before fleeing the scene. | submitted photo
Updated: December 26, 2011 8:59AM
CHANNAHON — Police have charged a Minooka resident three months after a hit-and-run driver severely injured a man.
Donald A. Wood, 50, of the 200 block of Vista Lane in Minooka, was arrested Wednesday morning at his auto repair shop, Don’s Automotive.
Wood was charged with felony counts of failing to report an accident involving an injury or death and leaving the scene of an accident. He was booked into the county jail on $30,000 bond.
On Aug. 10, a 42-year-old Channahon man was found in the middle of the northeast frontage road of Interstate 55, near Wood’s business. A passing driver reported the victim’s arm and leg were “torn up.” The man was airlifted from the scene and put on a ventilator at a hospital, police said.
About an hour later, police found the car they said struck the victim — a 1999 Toyota Solara with a dealer’s license plate parked behind the Manor Motel.
The car was key to the arrest, police said.
“The registered owner of the car was letting Wood use it when the crash occurred,” Deputy Chief Jeff Wold said, and Detectives Adam Bogart and Kevin McRaven used “physical evidence” to link Wood to the car.
“Our officers at the scene did an outstanding job of gathering the facts and preserving the physical evidence,” Wold said.
