Stolen Car Found During Romeoville Memorial Day Enforcement

ROMEOVILLE, IL — During its Memorial Day Click It or Ticket campaign from May 27-31, the Romeoville Police Department announced June 2 it issued 25 citations. Among them: one felony arrest, one stolen vehicle found and two aggravated speeding citations.

Sgt. Brian McClellan told Patch the car had been stolen out of Chicago and when the officer ran the plate, it came up as stolen. The felony arrest was tied to this incident, McClellan said.

One of the speeding tickets was given to someone going more than 80 mph in a 45-mph zone, according to McClellan.

The police department also wrote three citations for seat belt violations, one for an uninsured driver, five for speeding and nine for distracted driving, according to the village.

The campaign's goal is to change the behavior of "millions" who don't buckle up. The price for not wearing a seat belt in Romeoville is $165, according to McClellan. If someone were to take the ticket to court, he said the charge goes up to around $280.

Neighboring villages also held their own Click It or Ticket campaigns on Memorial Day. The Plainfield Police Department issued a total of 178 citations, 104 going out for seat belt-specific violations.

About 90.3 percent of drivers wore their seat belts in 2020, down 0.5 percent from 2019, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. In the Midwest specifically, 89.4 percent of drivers wear their seat belts.

Of the 22,215 people killed in car accidents in 2019, 47 percent weren't wearing seat belts, according to NHTSA. The administration estimated almost 2,500 lives could've been saved had people buckled up.

"Thousands of lives could be saved each year if every vehicle occupant was properly restrained when traveling," the press release said.