Sycamore man drives drunk, crashes truck into townhome, police say

SYCAMORE – A Sycamore man has been charged with driving drunk and crashing his truck into a townhome on South Peace Road in the early morning hours Saturday, authorities said.

Zachary Thomason, 33, of Sycamore, was charged Saturday with driving under the influence and improper lane usage after a truck versus building collision reported shortly before 1 a.m., according to a news release from the Sycamore Police Department.

Police responded to the crash in the 600 block of South Peace Road. When officers arrived, they saw a full-size truck partially inside a townhome building, police said.

“It did hit the side of one of the townhomes just located off Peace Road across from Meijer,” Police Chief Jim Winters said.

Winters said the truck struck the basement dividing wall of two three-story units next to each other. One of the units temporarily lost their gas connection and was without heat for multiple hours Saturday morning, Winters said. City officials worked to ensure the damage was boarded up to make the building structurally sound again.

“Thank goodness there was nobody in the basement at the time it happened,” Winters said.

Thomas was processed for DUI by Sycamore police, given a court order to appear for a pending court hearing and then released from police custody later Saturday, Winters said.

The crash caused a gas line to rupture and significant damage to the building. No major injuries were reported, however. Winters said responding officers immediately went into the unit to check on the driver and those inside. Only minor injures were reported, he said.

“The truck was traveling northbound on Peace Road and then it veered off into the field and then struck a residence there,” Winters said. “But our community development department, they came out and ensured there was no significant structural damage to it as far as making sure it was safe to the residents.”

Winters said no residents were permanently displaced. After the building was assessed and the damaged wall boarded up, residents were allowed to return home.

The gas leak was later turned off by Nicor. Electrical power to the building as a whole was not affected, police said.

Officials from the Sycamore Fire Department, city of Sycamore Community Development Department, Accurate Towing and ComEd assisted in the emergency response, according to the new release.

Crews remained at the crash site for several hours Saturday morning to keep residents safe, secure the building, remove the truck and board up the hole left behind, police said.

The New Year’s Eve holiday often sees DeKalb County law enforcement ramp up patrols to ensure no one drives impaired. This year is no different. Increased patrols will be out on local roads throughout the long weekend.

Winters said Saturday’s crash should serve as a good reminder and cautionary tale to be responsible when drinking.

“I think that accident was a perfect example of what can happen if people are drinking and driving,” Winters said. “And although there were no serious injures in this case, every day in our country there’s somebody that’s hurt or killed because of people getting behind the wheel when they drink and drive. There’s so many options out there right now, whether it’s ride share ... there’s really no excuse for getting behind the wheel when you’re drunk.”