Police: Off-duty Chicago cop fled traffic stop before fatal Arlington Heights crash
An off-duty Chicago police officer was killed early Monday morning when a speeding SUV he was driving struck a utility pole then plowed into the backyard of an Arlington Heights home, throwing him and a passenger from the vehicle, police said.
The totaled vehicle came to rest on the patio of homeowner Steve Rogers, barely missing the house where he, his wife and their three children ages 4, 2 and 1 were asleep.
"It's been quite a sad and unfortunate day," Rogers said Monday afternoon, about 12 hours after the fatal crash. "We're all safe. The kids slept all through it. We are just grateful for that.
"We didn't go outside. We heard it instantly. ... I thought the roof was coming off the house," he added. "It sounded like it was a tornado blowing the roof off."
The crash occurred just after 1 a.m. when a 2021 Toyota 4Runner heading northbound on Wilke Road veered off the roadway and hit the pole, police said. The SUV continued across Kirchoff Road, over a chain-link fence, and tumbled end over end through backyards, before finally landing in the Rogers family's yard on the 600 block of South Reuter Drive.
Both the driver and passenger were found by first responders outside the vehicle. No other injuries were reported.
Rogers called 911, and police and emergency personnel arrived quickly. But he couldn't watch much of the immediate aftermath of the violent accident, as responders tried to save the driver and passenger.
"I could just tell, it was absolutely tragic," Rogers said. "It was not something I wanted to witness."
The driver, Jose L. Castro, 29, of Chicago, was pronounced dead at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, which has a Level 1 trauma center where he was taken after the crash. His identity was released Monday afternoon by the Cook County medical examiner's office. An autopsy is scheduled for Tuesday.
Chicago Police Department officials didn't offer additional details Monday, directing questions to the Arlington Heights Police Department.
The 33-year-old passenger was treated and released at Northwest Community Hospital, just down the road from the crash scene in Arlington Heights.
Police said that while speed clearly was a factor, driver impairment also is suspected, but not confirmed.
Shortly before the crash, a Rolling Meadows police officer on patrol saw the Toyota speeding on Algonquin Road, less than two miles from the crash scene, police said. The officer attempted a traffic stop, but the SUV fled north on Wilke and the officer did not give chase.
Rogers said it's the third crash in recent years on his block, and it happened nearly a year to the date of the last one. The first two crashes led to vehicles striking neighbors' houses, he said.
Rogers and neighbors have asked the village to install some type of barrier to provide protection at the busy intersection of Kirchoff and Wilke. But they've been told there may be jurisdictional issues involving the state.
"Within a four-house span, three of the houses have a combined eight kids," Rogers said. "We don't use our backyards because it's not safe. We don't like our kids playing against the fence line."
The crash remains under investigation by Arlington Heights police and the Major Case Assistance Team (MCAT) - Serious Traffic Accident Reconstruction (STAR) team.