Man charged in stolen-car crash
By Carolyn Rusin
Special to the Tribune
Published June 17, 2005, 1:07 PM CDT
A 29-year-old Wisconsin man was charged today with fleeing an accident in which a car – stolen from a northwest suburban dealership – collided with another vehicle, injuring a mother and two young girls in Palatine.
Ronald M. Wheatley, of Williams Bay, was charged with reckless driving and leaving the scene of an injury accident, both misdemeanors, in connection with Thursday afternoon's crash, according to Mike Seebacher, spokesman for the Palatine Police Department.
The 2005 Pontiac GTO Wheatley was driving had been reported stolen earlier that day from Navarette Pontiac GMC, 909 E. Chicago Ave., Elgin, said Elgin police Sgt. Glenn Theriault. A man had asked to take a GTO for a test drive, took the car keys from a desk and fled with the vehicle, Theriault said.
Elgin police detectives were joining their counterparts in Palatine to investigate the case, and officials said additional charges were possible.
Witnesses told police Wheatley was driving a 2005 Pontiac GTO at high speed on the 500 block of Northwest Highway about 4 p.m. Thursday when he crashed into a 1995 Mazda Miata driven by Lynn A. Kretschmar, 46, of Palatine.
The woman was pulling out of Deer Run Drive when the Pontiac plowed into the front driver's side of the sports car, police said.
Kretschmar, her 12-year-old daughter and another girl, also 12, were in the Mazda, Seebacher said. All three were taken to Northwest Community Hospital, Arlington Heights, where they were expected to recover from their injuries.
After the crash, Wheatley jumped out of the Pontiac and ran away with some witnesses following him, Seebacher said. Other residents called police when they saw a man running through their back yards.
Wheatley ended up about 1 ½ miles from the accident scene, entering the front door of a home on the 200 block of West Kenilworth Avenue and confronting a 28-year-old resident, Seebacher said.
As Seebacher related their encounter, Wheatley told the man, "I've been shot" -- to which the resident replied, "You might get shot again walking into someone's house."
Wheatley fled the home and was apprehended around the corner, Seebacher said. He was in custody today pending a bond hearing in Cook County court.
for recking and almost killing those ladies, I hope his dumb ass gets hit by a car when he gets out of jail
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