Seven Homecoming Attendees Cited with Underage Drinking

Illegal consumption of alcohol—Seven juveniles were observed to be under the influence of alcohol at the Hinsdale Central High School Homecoming Dance on Sept. 24, according to the .

"At each Homecoming, there are usually between one and five citations issued for this offense," Hinsdale Deputy Police Chief Mark Wodka said in an email Tuesday.

Wodka said Hinsdale Police officers were on hand at the dance to provide security observed the intoxicated students.

All of the suspects—five males and two females—were cited and released to appear in court. Because they are juveniles, Wodka said, their identities will not be released.

Officer Mark Keller, the school resource officer at Hinsdale Central, said in his own email that no students were arrested for underage drinking at last year's Homecoming Dance.

Battery—Colleen M. Kendall, of 5508 S. Madison St. #6 in Hinsdale, was charged with battery after striking a female victim in the chest in the parking lot outside the above address at 6:42 p.m. Sept. 21, according to Hinsdale Police.

Wodka said the act was described as a "chest to chest" bump. The victim did not require any medical treatment. Kendall, 40, was arrested, charged, and released to appear in court.

Simple battery—James R. Austin, of 435 Oak St. in Des Plaines, was charged with battery after he made “unauthorized physical contact” with a male juvenile inside the BP gas station at 149 E. Ogden Ave. on the afternoon of Sept. 20.

According to Hinsdale Police, Austin, 50, grabbed the shoulder and arm of the victim, who is reportedly a “known acquaintance.”

DUI—Brigid M. Collins, of 1102 Lathrop Ave. in Forest Park, was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol when she failed both field and breath tests after being stopped by police for running a red light at York Road and Ogden Avenue at 1:47 a.m. Sept. 23.

Collins, 29, was charged with improper stopping on a roadway and disobeying a red light in addition to DUI. She was released on bond to appear in court.

Hit and run—A male victim’s vehicle was damaged by the driver of a “black, older” Mitsubishi SUV at 908 N. Elm St. around 3 p.m. Sept. 23 before the unknown suspect fled the scene.

The victim’s rear passenger side bumper was damaged, according to Hinsdale Police. There was no estimate of the damage.

Hit and run—An unknown suspect in a white vehicle damaged a dark purple Ford Taurus some time between 7:40 p.m. Sept. 19 and 7:05 a.m. Sept. 20 in the parking lot at 200 W. 59th St. and then fled the scene, according to Hinsdale Police.

There was no damage estimate at the time the hit and run was reported.

Criminal damage to property—A Burlington Northern Railroad employee reported one of the railroad’s tractors was tagged with green spray paint between 11 p.m. Sept. 20 and 9:46 a.m. Sept. 21 on the railroad’s property at South Adams Street. There are currently no suspects and the cost of the damage is unknown.

Patch reports on law enforcement activity in our towns, using information provided by official agencies. Persons charged with a crime, or issued a citation for violation of a local ordinance, are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. If you or a family member are charged with a crime or cited for a violation, and the charge or citation is subsequently adjudicated, we encourage you to notify the editor of this Patch site by emailing joe.odonnell@patch.com and we will do follow-up reporting on the case.