Lindenhurst officer cited in crash

A Lindenhurst police officer has been ticketed after running a stop sign and being struck by a civilian driver.

Lindenhurst Police Chief Jack McKeever said Officer Steven Flasch was traveling west on Gelden Road around 10:45 p.m. Monday when he went through a stop sign at Painted Lakes Boulevard, just west of Deep Lake Road.

Flasch's squad car was struck by a Honda Civic. The driver of the Honda was 36-year-old Jason Fabisiak, of Lake Villa.

Both men were taken by the Lake Villa Rescue Department to Condell Medical Center in Libertyville, where they were treated and released about four hours later, McKeever said.

Both vehicles had to be towed from the scene.

Flasch, 36, was issued a citation for violation of a stop sign. He will return to work today, after taking his scheduled days off, McKeever said.

Before coming to the Lindenhurst Police Department seven months ago, Flasch was an officer in Twin Lakes, Wis., for seven years.

McKeever said Monday's accident was Flasch's first since becoming a police officer.

The Lake County Sheriff's Department investigated the crash, and Flasch was tested for drugs and alcohol at the scene. Both tests were negative, McKeever said.

"We have had a really good record of vehicle safety in the past," he said. "This was just an unfortunate occurrence."