On April 25, 2013 the Champaign Police Department and the Illinois State Police conducted a joint operation to address “Party Buses” coming to the Champaign community from other college campuses, which has been an ongoing problem for the last few months.
At approximately 11:22 PM the Illinois State Police stopped a bus on Prospect and Bradley Ave. This “Party Bus” was transporting 60 students from Bloomington-Normal to the Champaign campus bars. Prior to conducting a motor carrier safety inspection on the bus, it was relocated to the Champaign Police Department parking lot for safety reasons.
As the Illinois State Police conducted the safety inspection, other officers located quantities of alcohol on the bus and found that the majority of the occupants were under the age of 21. The citations/arrests are as follows:
- Fifty-One individuals were issued city ordinance violations for Minors in Possession/Consumption of Alcohol;
- One individual was cited for an Unlawful Use of Identification Card;
- One 19 year-old female was transported to Presence Hospital for severe alcohol incapacitation;
- One person fled from police on foot, and after a short foot chase, was arrested and taken to the Champaign County Jail. Darby Martinez, Age 19, from Naperville, Illinois was charged with Illegal consumption of alcohol by a minor, Obstructing Identification and Resisting a Peace Officer.
After conducting a Motor Carrier Safety Inspection on the bus, the Illinois State Police put the “Wild Nites” bus “out of service” for several violations. The most serious of these violations was that the emergency exit on the rear of the bus was bolted shut, preventing it being opened from the interior or exterior.
The Champaign Police Department would like to thank the Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District for providing a bus for shelter while the students arranged for rides back to Bloomington-Normal.
The Operation Campus Tap program is funded through a grant from the United States Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. The Illinois Department of Human Services administers this grant.
The Champaign Police Department and Illinois State Police will continue to address these “Party Buses” and the obvious safety concerns in an attempt to keep students from this campus and other college campuses safe. Anyone with information about this crime or other “Party Buses” is asked to call Champaign Police at 217-351-4545 or callers can remain anonymous by calling Crime Stoppers at 217-373-8477 (TIPS). Tips can also be submitted through www.373tips.com or text by sending CCTIP plus the information to 274637 (CRIMES).