Brookfield Woman Says She 'Hit Cop': La Grange Police

LA GRANGE, IL — It's hard to miss a police car with its lights flashing. Yet a DUI suspect struck a parked squad car while an officer was responding to a domestic disturbance earlier this month, police said.

Laura E. Sroka, 47, of Brookfield, was arrested on a charge of DUI, among other offenses, according to police. Patch received the police report on the incident through a public records request.

About 9:30 p.m. June 17, Sroka hit a marked police car with its emergency lights flashing, according to the police report. The officer, who was not in the car, was among those responding to a domestic disturbance at La Grange Road and 48th Street. Police stopped Sroka a few blocks away, police said.

Asked whether she had anything to drink, she said she had "some beers," then added "probably five," the report said. She then experienced trouble completing sobriety tests, police said.

When she was placed under arrest, she asked an officer to retrieve her purse and other belongings. When the officer did so, he found two open cans of Corona in the car, police said.

Sroka was given a Miranda warning, but she continued to speak, according to the police report. Sroka said she has been hanging out with a friend in Hodgkins and that she knew she "hit a cop" on La Grange Road, police said. She said she did not stop because she knew she was intoxicated, according to the report.

When asked whether she would have reported the crash later, she said, "Probably not, because that's not something you do," the report said. She repeated three times she "hit a cop," police said.

Sroka was also asked whether she had stopped to make sure everyone was fine. She responded, "No, I didn't think it was that bad. I mean guys are special," according to the report.

The officer told Sroka that the traffic crash fortunately only resulted in vehicle damage.

Besides DUI, Sorka was charged with failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident, failure to yield one full lane for a police car, leaving the scene of an accident, illegal transportation of alcohol and damage to village property.

She was released on bond.