CHICAGO RIDGE, IL — An Oak Lawn man out on an I-bond for several felonies crashed his vehicle into a hookah lounge Tuesday afternoon in Chicago Ridge, police said.
Sami Hirmiz, 19, of the 8800 block of Austin Avenue, was charged with DUI, criminal damage to property, unlawful transportation of cannabis, reckless driving, improper lane usage and no insurance.
Around 4 p.m., Chicago Ridge police said Hirmiz was driving a 2008 Infiniti south on Southwest Highway when he left the roadway. The car drove through the parking lot and into Hookah Hype at 103rd Street and Southwest Highway, becoming completely submerged in the building.
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“We are very lucky the business was closed and no one was hurt or killed,” said Chief Jim Jarolimek, of the Chicago Ridge Police Department.
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Hirmiz has a pending case from last May on felony charges of aggravated battery to a police officer and aggravated fleeing and eluding. Police alleged that he ran over an officer in an attempt to flee a traffic stop. Hirmiz led officers on a high speed chase, but managed to outrun Illinois State Police and a police helicopter, eventually crossing over the Indiana state line, police said. Hirmiz turned himself in at the Chicago Ridge police station the next day.
Chicago Ridge police seized and were awarded the vehicle Hirmiz was driving in the May incident, also an Infiniti. The vehicle the 19-year-old was driving Tuesday was registered to a family member, Jarolimek said.
Hirmiz is due for a pretrial hearing Wednesday at the Bridgeview Courthouse.
Sami Hirmiz, 19 | Chicago Ridge Police Department
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