Wheaton police officer suspended 6 days for crashing squad into house
A veteran Wheaton police officer who fell asleep on duty in September and accidentally drove her squad car into a house has been suspended without pay for six days.
Wheaton police said "an extensive investigation" concluded officer Dana Opalinski fell asleep moments before the Sept. 24 crash. No one was injured when Opalinski's squad car left the road about 4 a.m. and smashed through the front door of a house on Wheaton's south side.
Opalinski said she fell asleep while driving south on Winners Cup Circle, according to the police report of the accident.
After driving through a stop sign and an intersection, Opalinski's 2008 Ford Crown Victoria went over a curb, knocked over a mailbox and struck the concrete front stoop of a house in the 100 block of Brighton Drive.
In the report, Opalinski said the impact woke her and she believed she hit the gas pedal "and the vehicle accelerated through the front door."
"There was no evidence of any other cause of the accident and the police department expresses its relief that there were no injuries sustained by members of the public or the officer as a result of the incident," police officials said in a written statement.
Chief Mark Field declined further comment.
The disciplinary case was expected to require a hearing before the Wheaton Board of Fire and Police Commissioners because Field only has authority to suspend an officer without pay for up to five days.
City Manager Don Rose said the hearing wasn't needed because Opalinski chose not to challenge the punishment. Rose called the suspension "an appropriate discipline for what occurred."
"Six days seemed to be sufficient for the facts that were there," he said.
Officials said a final decision about the punishment was delayed for months while the city tried to find out how much it must pay for repairs to the house.
The squad car came to a stop several feet inside the home's foyer. The front door and part of the surrounding wall were knocked over.
Wheaton must reimburse the homeowner's insurance company about $51,000, Rose said. The city also spent roughly $5,000 to repair the squad car.
Rose said money for the repairs is coming from a reserve in the city's liability insurance fund.
The police report lists apparent traffic violations related to the incident as failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident and disobeying a stop sign. Officials said no citations were issued.
The officer was working a patrol shift that begins at 10:40 p.m. and ends at 7 a.m., officials said. There are no indications drugs or alcohol were involved.
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<h2>Stories</h2>
<ul class="links">
<li><a href="/story/?id=352859">Police report: Wheaton cop fell asleep at wheel <span class="date">[1/22/10]</span></a></li>
<li><a href="/story/?id=324197">Chief: Wheaton cop who drove into house will be 'held accountable' <span class="date">[9/25/09]</span></a></li>
<li><a href="/story/?id=323847">Police car strikes Wheaton home <span class="date">[9/24/09]</span></a></li>
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