Wauconda Marine officer and his wife seriously injured in head-on-crash
An off-duty Wauconda Police officer and his wife were seriously injured in a fatal three-car crash April 25 near Rockford.
Tim Geroulis, 29, was driving a Toyota RAV4 with his wife, Michelle Geroulis, 30, and another passenger on Interstate 39 in Ogle County at about 2:45 a.m. April 25 when the crash occurred, according to Illinois State Police.
Tim Geroulis, who lives with his wife in Plainfield, primarily serves the Wauconda Police Department Marine Unit and also is an officer with the Holiday Hills Police Department and other security positions, according to Michelle's sister, Danielle Weston, who initiated a DoorDash Meal Train donation site for the couple.
Michelle Geroulis is a registered nurse, Weston noted in her fundraiser, which had collected more than $13,000 by May 3.
Wauconda Police Chief Dave Wermes said Tim Geroulis was airlifted in a "flight for life" helicopter to a Rockford hospital. Geroulis sustained fractures to his left arm, both hips and legs, and ruptured internal organs, and was placed in a medically induced coma, Wermes said.
He remains in the hospital in Rockford with Michelle Geroulis, who is conscious but has fractures in her left leg and minor fractures in her spine, Wermes said.
Another passenger in the Toyota, Robert Nudera, 29, of Shorewood, also was initially treated, according to state police, but was uninjured, Wermes said.
Tim and Michelle Geroulis and Nudera, who the chief said were returning from a family gathering, were traveling in the southbound lanes of I-39 near mile marker 104, according to Illinois State Police.
A northbound Honda CR-V crossed into the southbound lanes and struck the Geroulis' vehicle head on. The Toyota was sent up in the air and struck another vehicle, a Chevrolet Malibu, traveling southbound behind it, police said.
The Honda's driver, Clearthis Gardner, 79, of Maywood, was killed in the crash, authorities said.
Wermes said state police had issued a Silver Alert for Gardner, and said there had been multiple calls reporting a driver going the wrong way on I-39.
The driver of the Malibu, James Gregory, 35, of Romeoville, and a passenger, Allison Anderson, 30, of Oswego, also were taken to the hospital with injuries, officials said.
Tim Geroulis, sworn in on Sept. 8, 2020, is a part-time Wauconda Police officer whose primary focus is with the Marine Patrol Unit, Wermes said. Geroulis also worked many special events such as Wauconda Fest and Shop with a Cop.
"He dedicated a lot of his time for events at the police department," said Wermes, Wauconda's police chief nearly eight years, after serving 27 years with Schaumburg police.
In 2021 Geroulis received department commendation at the annual Wauconda Police awards ceremony for saving three people clinging onto a capsized boat in Bangs Lake during a severe storm on Aug. 29, 2021.
Geroulis' supervisor, Wauconda Police Sgt. Mike Aiardo, is assembling a fundraiser for the Geroulis family through the Wauconda Police Department. All proceeds will go to the Geroulis family.
Aiardo also is accepting donations for the family. They may be made by check written to Tim or Michelle Geroulis and mailed to Sgt. Mike Aiardo, Wauconda Police Department, 311 S. Main St., Wauconda, IL 60084. For questions call Aiardo at (847) 865-0405.
"Tim is a dedicated police officer, committed to the residents and the Village of Wauconda," Aiardo said. "We are truly deeply impacted by this tragedy and will keep the family in our continued prayers."