Driver imperiled when vanilla milkshake splattered windshield, blocked her vision

BLACKBERRY TOWNSHIP – Two motorists learned the hard way of the importance of not throwing things out of the window of a moving vehicle, according to Kane County Sheriff’s reports.

A McDonald’s vanilla milkshake, tossed from a passing vehicle, covered another driver’s windshield resulting in her nearly driving off the road, reports stated.

Shortly after 10 p.m. on June 6, a woman reported driving her Honda CRV south on Bunker Road from Keslinger Road in Blackberry Township when she was passed by a silver pickup truck.

And then something hard struck her windshield, the report stated.

“Immediately after the object struck, (her) windshield was covered in a thick, white liquid obstructing her vision,” the report stated. “(She) was startled by the object and liquid, causing her to driver off of the road and onto the shoulder. (She) had to brake hard to bring her vehicle to a stop and avoid driving completely off the road. She was extremely alarmed, upset and frightened.”

She waited a few minutes to calm down before she could drive home and call police, the report stated.

The deputy used Flock – an Automated License Plate Recognition system – to locate a silver Ram 1500 pickup truck at Brundige and Keslinger roads at 10:08 p.m., near the area where incident occurred, the report stated.

The deputy asked West Chicago police to respond to an address on Washington Street in that municipality to contact the registered owner and provide the deputy’s phone number, the report stated.

About an hour later, the truck’s owner called the deputy and said her son had been driving the truck. The deputy told the owner about the incident and she would have him call when he got home, the report stated.

Shortly after that, the driver called and admitted to throwing a milkshake out of his truck at a car after driving north from the four-way stop at Bunker and Hughes roads, the report stated.

“(He) bought the milkshake from a McDonald’s … and could not say why he threw the milkshake at the car,” the report stated. “(He said) he was sorry for what he did and apologized. (He) wished to apologize to the victim and make things right.”

The deputy told the Honda driver about what happened and she did not wish to sign a complaint, the report stated.

Even if the pickup truck driver’s milkshake had not struck the Honda’s windshield, in any case, it is illegal to litter on the state’s roadsides. according to the Illinois Department of Transportation.

In 2020, IDOT spent $6.1 million to pick up litter, “the equivalent of resurfacing 30 miles of road or purchasing 40 new maintenance trucks that also plow snow in winter,” according to a press release “Think Before You Throw” posted at www2.illinois.gov.

“Items tossed onto the road cause distractions, crashes and even hurt people,” the release stated. “They also put workers who have to pick them up at risk. Littering is illegal, subject to a fine of up to $1,500.”