May 06, 2025
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North Aurora man charged with felony DUI after crashing into brick mailbox, ComEd pole

Motorist also had six warrants for his arrest

By Brenda Schory
Jacob B. Welbes was charged with two counts of felony aggravated DUI, misdemeanor driving under the influence, driving without insurance, failure to report an accident, leaving the scene, driving too fast for conditions and improper lane use.

Jacob B. Welbes was charged with two counts of felony aggravated DUI, misdemeanor driving under the influence, driving without insurance, failure to report an accident, leaving the scene, driving too fast for conditions and improper lane use. (Provided)

BATAVIA TOWNSHIP – A North Aurora driver was charged with two counts of felony aggravated driving under the influence after he hit a brick mailbox and a utility pole, according to Kane County Sheriff’s reports.

Jacob B. Welbes, 34, of the 300 block of April Lane, North Aurora, was also charged May 13 with misdemeanor driving under the influence, driving without insurance, failure to report an accident, leaving the scene, driving too fast for conditions and improper lane use, police and court records show.

Deputies were called to Hart Road and Sunset Drive in Batavia Township shortly after midnight in response to a accident call, the report stated.

The person who called in the crash was a nurse who heard the crash, saw a flash and went to check on the driver, “a male attempting to walk away from the accident,” the report stated. “The caller stated the male was highly intoxicated.”

Deputies saw a 2001 green Ford Expedition with air bags deployed that had crashed into the ComEd pole and a bricked mailbox that was knocked down, with bricks all over the front yard, the report stated.

“I observed tire marks on the grass of the vehicle leaving the road beginning prior to the brick mailbox and ending where the vehicle had been traveling south bound (on) Hart Road,” the report stated. “Power was lost at some of the houses in the area due to the crash. ComEd was called on scene to for repairs.”

Welbes was released on his own recognizance and is to appear in court June 1.

Welbes has two other DUI charges pending in Kane County, from Sept. 26, 2017 and Nov. 13, 2017, court records show. Welbes’s June 1 court date on the new charge includes both pending 2017 charges, according to court records.

Welbes pleaded guilty to driving with a blood alcohol content over 0.08% on a 2010 charge in a plea agreement so he would not be prosecuted on a DUI charge, Kane County records show.

Welbes received a fine,100 hours of community service and a year of supervision from Aug. 24 2010 to Aug. 24, 2011, court records show.

The sheriff’s report also stated that Welbes also had six outstanding warrants. Three were from Kane County on charges of driving with a revoked license, a felony charge of possession of a stolen vehicle title, both from 2018, and a May 16 charge of contempt for not appearing court in connection with child support, court records show.

Tri-Com Central Dispatch noted two warrants for failure to appear in court on drunken driving charges and one warrant from DuPage County for failure to appear in court on charges of driving without insurance, driving with a suspended license and driving too fast for conditions, police and court records show.

Welbes did not return a voice mail message seeking comment. Court records did not show an attorney of record.