Riverside police make arrest after finding two asleep in car in traffic


Police charged Ivana Tasevska, 21, of the 0-100 block of Statford Court, Indian Head Park, for driving under the influence, possession of drug paraphernalia and numerous traffic citations after finding her asleep in the driver's seat of a car running and in-gear in a southbound lane of Harlem Avenue at Addison Road.

Police were called at 2:03 p.m. about a car stopped in traffic where the driver and passenger both appeared to be asleep. When an officer arrived, both occupants were found asleep and the officer attempted to wake them before calling paramedics. When attempting to revive the driver, later identified as Tasevska, the officer noticed a white, powder substance on her lap. When she awoke, police said she attempted to brush the substance off.

Police said Tasevska was confused, spoke with slurred speech and was in a dazed state once awoken. She was transported to MacNeal Hospital in Berwyn, as well as her passenger, who was treated for drug overdose.

At the hospital, Tasevska was placed under arrest for driving under the influence of drugs. During the course of their investigation, police learned Tasevska had just ingested heroin prior to police arriving at the car. Police said she stated she had also taken methadone, Xanax and crack cocaine in the previous 24 hours.

Police said the two rented a room at a motel in Lyons an hour before being stopped. They traveled to Chicago, purchased heroin and snorted it while driving back to the motel while stopped by a freight train at Harlem and Addison.

Riverside police seized the vehicle. No drug charges were pursued as the heroin had been ingested by the time officers arrived, police said.