This is what the earliest birds headed to work this morning on the Chicago South Side's Dan Ryan Expressway that goes into the city from the south burbs, a pretty brutal crash where the driver was an off duty cop who bolted the scene apparently but was quickly apprehended and likely will face a cavalcade of charges starting with possible vehicular homicide when this is all sorted out throughout the day.
Driver in fatal crash is Chicago cop
Chicago Breaking News:"The driver of an SUV who police said was responsible for a fiery crash that killed two people on the outbound Dan Ryan Expressway early this morning was an off-duty Chicago police officer.
The two people were killed when their disabled vehicle was hit from behind and burst into flames, authorities said. Relatives identified one of them as a 23-year-old Summit man."
The Chicago Police Department said it has launched an internal affairs investigation and will relieve the officer of his police powers. The officer, an 18-year veteran, worked as a detective in the Wentworth Area on the South Side.
The 41-year-old officer is in police custody at Northwestern Memorial Hospital where he was being treated, but no charges have yet been filed.
The red Dodge apparently had pulled over to the side of the roadway, possibly to deal with a flat tire, when it was struck from the rear by the SUV, Illinois State Police said.
State Police spokesman Sgt. Juan Valenzuela said the driver of the SUV was a Chicago cop, but he had no further information about him.
"It's still early in the investigation," Valenzuela said.
The crash occurred just after 3:35 a.m. just north of 18th Street.
Relatives leaving the county morgue this morning identified one of the crash fatalities as Andrew Cazares, 23, of the 7700 block of West 62nd Place in southwest suburban Summit.
With dozens of friends and family members coming to the home to pay their respects, one of Cazares' cousins described him as a hardworking and family-oriented man who was working to turn his life around after some difficult teenage years. Cazares had attended Argo High School in Summit and lived with his parents.
"He was a good kid. He was working construction and trying to make a better life for himself," said the cousin, who declined to give his name. "It's a pretty tragic situation. It's very upsetting. He was so young and had a lot of life to live."
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