Des Plaines man charged with fleeing scene of deadly accident (IL) "Updated 02.16.24"

[TowNews]

BENSENVILLE, Ill. - A Des Plaines man has been charged after allegedly leaving the scene of a fatal accident Monday in the northwest suburb.

 

Joseph Sarb, 42, is accused of driving a tow truck into a business parking lot around 10:14 p.m. where 46-year-old Daruisz Zalewski crashed into him while riding a motorcycle near Irving Park Road and Walnut Avenue.

 

Zalewski was launched from his motorcycle onto Irving Park Road, officials said.

 

Sarb continued driving through the parking lot and got back onto Irving Park Road before fleeing the scene.

 

Zalewski was found by officers lying unresponsive next to his motorcycle. He was rushed to a local hospital where he died.

 

Sarb was arrested Wednesday at his residence and charged with one count of leaving the scene of an accident causing death.

 

"The allegation that Mr. Sarb failed to stop and help a man who had just been knocked off his motorcycle and instead fled the scene are extremely troubling," DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin said in a statement. "Additionally, leaving the scene of an accident in which you were involved that left a fatally injured man lying on a dark street, as alleged in this case, is not only illegal, it is morally reprehensible. I extend my sincerest condolences to Mr. Zalewski's family and friends as they grieve this senseless, terrible loss."

 

Sarb was ordered held on a $250,000 bond. He is scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 31.

 

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[TowForce]

Des Plaines man pleads guilty to leaving scene of Bensenville crash that killed motorcyclist

 

 

A tow truck driver who turned left in front of a motorcyclist in Bensenville has pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident that resulted in death.

 

Joseph M. Sarb, 42, of the 1100 block of Thacker Street in Des Plaines, entered a blind plea Wednesday, leaving it up to Judge Daniel Guerin to decide his sentence.

 

He will be sentenced on April 4. Because the charge is a Class 1 felony, Sarb could be sentenced to probation or one to three years in prison.

 

He has been held in the DuPage County jail since his arrest on Aug. 2.

 

The crash happened around 10:14 p.m. on July 31 on Irving Park Road near Walnut Avenue. The victim was 46-year-old Dariusz Zalewski.

A woman driving behind Zalewski told police she saw a tow truck, driving west on Irving Park, make a left turn into a business parking lot. Zalewski was driving east on Irving Park and hit the back of the tow truck.

 

Sarb did not stop. A camera caught the license plate on the truck and traced it to a Des Plaines towing company where Sarb was living.

 

Sarb was not working that night but was driving the truck to buy cigarettes, a prosecutor said at Sarb’s bail hearing in August. She said he told police he kept going because “it didn't feel real.”

 

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