Lockport police officer charged in fatal crash on Stevenson

Illinois State Police have charged Lockport police officer Eddie Stapinski with drunken driving and reckless homicide in Sunday night crash that ended with the death of a Vietnamese immigrant.

Trooper James Gawel said Stapinski remains at Chicago's Mount Sinai Hospital recovering from injuries sustained in the crash and will be taken to Bridgeview courthouse for processing when he recovers. Gawel said Stapinski's blood-alcohol level was above Illinois' legal threshold of .08 but that investigators had the exact number.

Man Wong, 29, of the 2000 block of South Wentworth Avenue, was pronounced dead in the three-vehicle crash that happened at 9:35 p.m. Sunday, the Cook County medical examiner's office said.

Wong was driving in the middle lane when the off-duty officer spun out in the far left lane and hit Wong's vehicle head-on, officials said.

The city of Lockport confirmed on its Web site a local officer was involved in the crash, while also extending condolences to Wong's family members.

The city also said on its Web site that it will await the results of the crash investigation before commenting further.