(RIVERSIDE) A man was charged with running away after crashing his vehicle into a tree in a backyard in west suburban Riverside early Friday.
Authorities were called about 3:40 a.m. with reports that a car had driven off the road and hit bushes, trees and a fence before stopping near a garage in the 500 block of Selborne Road, according to a statement from Riverside police.
When officers arrived, they found an unoccupied gray Nissan in the yard, which backs up to the intersection of 26th Street and Westover Avenue, police said. Parts of the car were found along 26th and collected as evidence.
A resident of the home called police about 10:30 a.m. to report they had found a cellphone in the yard, which helped authorities identify the driver as 22-year-old Jorge Barrios, police said.
Police in Cicero contacted the Riverside police about 3 p.m. to report that Barrios was in the lobby of their station trying to report his car as stolen, police said. Cicero police took him into custody, and he was taken to the Riverside Police Department for further investigation.
Investigators recovered a baseball hat belonging to Barrios and other personal items at the scene of the crash, police said. Barrios told officers he had left a bar in North Riverside and was driving eastbound on 26th when one of his friends grabbed the steering wheel and caused the car to leave the road.
Barrios, of the 1800 block of South 58th Court in Cicero, is charged with improper lane usage, driving too fast for conditions, damage to village property, driving without proof of insurance and leaving the scene of a property damage accident, police said. He was processed and released on bond.
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