Woman Charged With DUI In Crash At Naperville Gym
NAPERVILLE, Ill. (STMW) -- A Naperville woman has been charged with drunken driving after crashing her car into the front of a health and fitness club in the western suburb, the second such crash there in less than two years.
Ruth M. Erdemir, 57, lives on the 2200 block of Stowe Circle in Naperville. She is free on bond and facing trial on two counts of driving under the influence of alcohol, Naperville police Sgt. Lou Cammiso said Friday.
Erdemir suffered minor injuries in the crash. It occurred about 4:25 p.m. Thursday at the Midwest Fit Club at 5019 Ace Lane, near the southwest corner of 111th Street and Route 59.
Cammiso said Erdemir was apparently pulling her car into a parking space when she allegedly "hit the gas (pedal) instead of the brake." The black, four-door Mercedes S 500 slammed into a red brick pillar near the club's entrance and came to a stop within inches of the windows, where several pieces of exercise equipment are located.
The airbags deployed during the crash, and the car sustained major front-end damage.
Naperville Fire Department paramedics took Erdemir to Edward Hospital in Naperville for treatment of her injuries. While either en route to or at the hospital, it was determined Erdemir was under the influence of alcohol, Cammiso said.
A man who was on the scene Thursday and identified as the club's manager declined to comment on the situation.
It marked the second crash into the building, and in nearly the same spot, in just under two years.
The first occurred about 2:10 p.m. Dec. 14, 2011, when a Cardinal Fitness center occupied the storefront. In that matter, police said an 80-year-old Naperville woman mistook the accelerator of her red, four-door BMW 325i sedan for its brake.
Police Cmdr. Ken Parcel in 2011 said the woman "thought she was depressing the brake," and the car hit the building because she was "actually applying the gas."
The BMW's front end shattered two large, plate glass windows and came to a halt after striking and displacing several treadmills and other pieces of equipment arranged in a row parallel to the windows. Shards of broken glass went flying into the club and onto its floor.
A handful of patrons and employees were inside the club at the time, but all escaped injury.
An examination of court documents indicated Erdemir has no record in DuPage County or Will County. Her arraignment date is pending.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2013. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
