Road Rage/Murder Attempt Antidepressants 30/09/2004 Illinois Man Deliberately Crashes into Police Car
 
 Summary:<br><br>The fourth paragraph from the end reads: &quot;said he was taking pain medication and <strong>anti-depressants the evening of the crash.&quot; <br /><br /></strong>Paragraphs 9 &amp; 10 state: &quot;Several officers testified Tuesday that Buus was &quot;<strong>yelling and screaming&quot; and &quot;very angry&quot; following the crash</strong>. When asked how fast he was going, they heard Buus say he <strong>&quot;had it all the way to the floor, as fast as it could go.&quot; <br /><br /></strong>An Auburn police officer who was first on the scene testified that Buus screamed that he wanted <strong>to kill&nbsp; himself and &quot;wanted to take that cop with me&quot;</strong> shortly after the crash. <br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.sj-r.com/sections/news/stories/36543.asp">http://www.sj-r.com/sections/news/stories/36543.asp</a><br /><br />Jury convicts man of battery <br />Buus ran into police squad car <br /><br />By <a href="mailto:chris.dettro@sj-r.com">CHRIS DETTRO</a><br />STAFF WRITER<br /><br />A Sangamon County jury Wednesday rejected an attempted murder charge against a 43-year-old Raymond man who crashed his vehicle into a Thayer policeman&#39;s squad car, instead convicting David L. Buus of aggravated battery, criminal damage to property and a lesser reckless conduct charge. <br /><br />Circuit Judge Leo Zappa will sentence Buus Nov. 19 on three felony counts, the most serious of which is a Class 3 felony punishable by as much as to two to five years in prison. Reckless conduct is a Class A misdemeanor. <br /><br />Attempted first-degree murder is a Class X felony punishable by six to 30 years in prison. <br /><br />The eight-man, four-woman jury took about three hours to reach a verdict after a day and a half of testimony. <br /><br />Buus was on trial for crashing his Chevrolet Blazer into a squad car driven by Thayer police officer Michael Broaddus about 7:55 p.m. Dec. 30 at the intersection of Roosevelt and Main streets in Thayer. <br /><br />Broaddus was responding to a domestic-disturbance call involving Buus when the officer got to the intersection and saw an SUV southbound on Roosevelt. <br /><br />Buus allegedly accelerated and rammed Broaddus&#39; squad car just behind the driver&#39;s side door. Broaddus, who had the right of way and had his lights flashing, testified he realized that Buus wasn&#39;t going to stop at the stop sign and accelerated himself, trying to get out of the way. <br /><br />Several officers testified Tuesday that Buus was &quot;yelling and screaming&quot; and &quot;very angry&quot; following the crash. When asked how fast he was going, they heard Buus say he &quot;had it all the way to the floor, as fast as it could go.&quot; <br /><br />An Auburn police officer who was first on the scene testified that Buus screamed that he wanted to kill himself and &quot;wanted to take that cop with me&quot; shortly after the crash. <br /><br />Buus, the only defense witness, said Wednesday under questioning by Sangamon County public defender Brian Otwell that he didn&#39;t remember saying those things and that he had tried to swerve and avoid a collision with the squad car. He said he was trying to avoid being stopped by police and make it to the back roads around Thayer. <br /><br />He also said he couldn&#39;t remember leaving a message for his wife on an answering machine Dec. 29 saying he wanted to kill himself. <br /><br />Buus lost his left arm in 1985 as a result of a motorcycle accident and said he was taking pain medication and anti-depressants the evening of the crash. <br /><br />Broaddus was treated at Memorial Medical Center and released the same evening. <br /><br />Assistant state&#39;s attorneys Jeff Hoecker and Jay Magnuson prosecuted the case. <br /><br />Chris Dettro can be reached at 788-1510 or chris.dettro@sj-r.com. <br /> 
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