Urbana teen ticketed following crash
URBANA — An Urbana teenager was ticketed for driving on an instruction permit without an adult present in the vehicle after his vehicle crashed into an Urbana police squad car on Friday afternoon.
According to an Illinois State Police report, officers were called to a report of a crash at Main and Vine streets in Urbana at about 1 p.m.
Urbana police Officer Michael Cervantes, 28, who listed an address in St. Joseph, was driving southbound on Vine Street and was transporting a passenger, Lonnell Powell, 25, who listed an address in Champaign, to the county jail following an arrest, the report said.
Cervantes had been in the turning lane and was in the process of making a left-hand turn onto Main Street when the squad car was hit by a northbound 1995 blue Honda Civic driven by Rafael Magdaleno, 17, who listed an address in Urbana, police said.
According to the police report, the front of the Honda struck the right rear wheel of the squad car.
Police said Powell, who was not wearing a seat belt, received minor injuries. He was taken by ambulance to Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana, where he was treated and then released.
Magdaleno, who was wearing a seat belt, reported a headache and a finger injury. He refused medical treatment, police said.
Cervantes, who was wearing a seat belt, was not injured, according to the report.
State police ticketed Magdalino for driving on an instruction permit without an adult with a valid license present with him in the vehicle. Additional tickets were still pending on Saturday, police said.
I happened to be 2 cars behind the intersection and saw it all happen. The COP was the one at fault. Nice that he got a ticket, right?!? Ugh. Yes, the kid should have had a licensed driver in the car but that doesn't change the fact that he did not cause the accident, the cop did.
The kid had a green light and should have been able to proceed into the intersection he had the right of way. I still can't figure out why the police car was turning left when he should have yielded.
Glad everyone was okay.
Considering that the kid had the green light and the right of way, I think it could have been anybody who hit the cop car. It could have happened to a driver with 1 year experience or 30. Not his fault. Cop went through an intersection when he shouldn't have. The kid may not have had his full drivers license but at least he had an adult with him. Granted, the adult should have been licensed. Maybe he was at one time. I don't know. Doesn't change the fact that the kid was not the one who was at fault. The cop went through the intersection when it wasn't his turn, the kid was driving straight just light the green light told him to do and the cop tried to beat him and pulled out in front of him and the kid couldn't stop in time. I'm not sure what that cop was thinking trying to get through the intersection when there were two lanes of traffic coming towards him. How bout that? WHOA!
If your comment was meant as sarcasm, then you're awesome. Wasn't sure. Just wanted to reiterate the fact that this poor kid is going to get a lot of crap for a situation that was caused by a cop breaking the traffic law. Just because you have lights and a siren on your car doesn't mean you're entitled to break the traffic rules everyone else has to follow (excluding emergencies of course).
CPD/ISP , Ind State Police and the Indiana Department of Conservation Police are all hiring. I suggest you wanna be's all get your applications in soon, since you know so much about police work, you will not have to go to the academy... just straight to being a Chief.
Yikes! Someone said the officer failed to yield the right of way, and you come up with the thought that everyone should become chief. Heck, why don't we just scrap the Constitution and Illinois statutes and let anything happen. Believe it or not, the police officer is employed by the public and paid by the public. The public not only has a duty to respond, it is their right. Hopefully everyone will chime in. Even on another thread, when a gent makes wild accusations, I am at least happy that he cares enough to chime in with his nickels worth (though 2 cents would be plenty). You do the crime, you do the time . . . unless your a police officer. We all make mistakes -- that is why they call them accidents -- and when that happens, the police should hold the person accountable. This should especially happen when the person wears a badge.
By your comments, it seems that Heather and others are out of their minds to question their employees. The audacity speak up and be heard. I'm aghast. And I guess you want to be an employment consultant?
What about the parents? The kid was illegally driving whether the accident was his fault, or not. Why were the parents allowing him to drive anyway? Did he have insurance? Do you allow your 17 year old to break the law? Nothing good comes out of hitting a police car whether it is your fault, or not. He was driving illegally.
I'm glad an Urbana cop has a St. Joe address... When are we going to put an end to this insanity? Your pension is killing our finances. Your unions are draining our payroll. Yet, you can't even live in our town? I'm not a cop hater by any means, I just think we all do the jobs we do knowing the risk. Cops are not selfless people; they get paid to do what they do. If it was a volunteer job without a set retirement date and amazing pension; I doubt there would be a backlog on the register like there is at the current time.
They earn their money collecting human garbage. They DO protect us. They are people depending on their pensions in old age. They paid their share every paycheck; but their employers did not pay the share they owed. If the state, and municipalities were private businesses; they would have been in court years ago. The southeast Urbana neighborhood is pleading for police protection; but the city is looking at beautifying Bone Yard Creek instead of beefing up protection for it's citizens. None of this is the fault of the police, and firefighters. Maybe, you want a militia?
What an intelligent response... No, I do not want a militia. Did I state that? I made the point that they are performing a job like the rest of us. When they took an oath they realized that dealing with unsavory people and possible violence was a part of the job. You are a typically reactionary person. Do you think that money can just be diverted from public works projects to other areas? Also, calling people 'human garbage' gets us nowhere. The funding of a municipality is a combination of collected funds, grants, and revenue. Several of these sources have restricted use. It is not a simple as cutting from one area to give to another. Funds have intended purposes. Hey, how about the police take a wage freeze and then we can use the savings to hire more officers, sounds great to me, but I doubt their union will see it that way. Throw that idea out there and you'll see how much the police do their job for the public good vs. a way to earn a living. Also, with the backlog on the registers it seems people are lining up to do the job. Lets put a residency restriction in place to keep Urbana dollars in Urbana and lower the payrate. Its classic econ theory here, if there is excess demand for the job that means there is too much benefit so lets reduce the benefit so that demand for the job equals openings.
Sounds great. Are you taking a "wage freeze"? How about paying what is owed to them on the employer contributions to their pensions? Your "classic econ theory" will result in getting the public safety force equal to what you pay. Based on your theory, outsourcing public protection would be cheaper. The backlog on the registers does not mean that they are all qualified to do the job as the public expects it to be done. With a residency restriction, you could hire only the best that Urbana has to offer. How about just giving them respect; paying them a decent wage that they can support their families on; and paying what is owed to them on their pensions? Southeast Urbana residents are begging for protection while the city is considering beautifying the Bone Yard ditch. The funding does come different sources; but shorting the public safety employees only means that the money for them is to be used on other things. What are the residents priorities?
I do not understand why people get so upset about officers not living in the same town they work in. Maybe they live in a different town to be closer to their parents or extended family. Have you ever considered that? Have you ever considered that maybe the officer doesn't want some neighbor coming over and yelling at him because he got a traffic ticket from the department he works for. How about their children getting beat up because of what their mother or father does for a living. Also to the person who asked if I was important. My children,parents and spouse think I am important and that's all that matters!
Its sad the young guy had to get ticketed for his part in this drama but I (lonnell powell) would like help in this case with any eyewitnesses preferably "heather j" as I will be prosecuting those guilty (the city) not for monetary purposes but for my health and for justice....no one is above the law.
Thank you
Lonnell hayes-powell
If you have any info that can help please email 217connect@gmail.com
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