PEORIA, Ill. — A Peoria County man is facing DUI and drug possession charges after his car launched, allegedly at extremely high speed, into a ravine over the weekend.
A Peoria County Sheriff’s crash report says 32-year-old Mark Cross crashed his car into a ravine off Sterling Avenue and West Farmington Road around 7:30 a.m. Saturday.
Deputies say Cross was visibly intoxicated at the time and witnesses say the first thing Cross reached for after the crash was a tequila bottle inside the vehicle, reportedly tossing it and then pacing around the car.
Cross reportedly told arresting officers he had been on his phone when he “missed the turn”.
Deputies later found a baggie containing a substance which tested positive for cocaine in one of Cross’s pants pockets.
Cross was medically cleared and then booked into Peoria County Jail on charges of DUI and unlawful possession of a controlled substance. He has since been released from custody.