Crime & Safety
Don't Worry Bro, Help is Just a Phone Call Away
Backseat buddy tries to get friend off the hook during Orland DUI traffic stop by dialing 911 to distract the cops, police allege. Instead, he gets slapped with a felony himself.
If you've ever chauffeured an insistent friend, the well-worn phrase “backseat driver” comes to mind. But what would you call a passenger who pulls out all the stops to let you drive on your own terms?
Orland Park police say a Tinley Park man called 911 from the back seat during a traffic stop to report a fabricated emergency to get the driver out of a potential DUI.
Stephen J. Fratto, 24, of the 8800 block of Juniper Court, called 911 on April 3 to distract the officers who pulled over him and his friend for speeding, weaving and changing lanes without a signal, according to an Orland Park police report.
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Soon after being stopped, Fratto told dispatch that men in a silver Pontiac outside Zante’s in Orland Hills had just flashed a gun, police said. Several Orland Hills police officers responded to the area, speeding passed Fratto and the car Orland Park police had stopped.
Dispatch described the caller as “confused” and became suspicious when they recognized the voice of a police officer in the background, according to the report. The caller hung up after about a minute without giving much detail but telling dispatch he was at his home in Tinley Park, police said.
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Dispatch called the number back to no avail, police said. But soon Fratto phoned them back and said the silver car was now driving near 159th Street and 94th Avenue, police said. Dispatch told police the call was likely coming from the back seat.
After questioning, Fratto was arrested and charged with felony disorderly conduct. At the station, police photographed Fratto’s cell phone screen showing an incoming call from 911, according to the report.
Fratto’s efforts, if true, were futile. The driver, Brian S. Elitzer, 25, of the 7300 block of 171st Street in Tinley Park, was charged with driving under the influence, driving on a suspended license and failure to signal when required. He was stopped only a couple blocks south of Zante's at 88th Avenue and 161st Place around 2:45 a.m., police said.
Another of Elitzer’s passengers, a woman, was questioned about her involvement and why she would let Elitzer drive her mother’s car when she wasn’t intoxicated. She was released without charges.
