Car accidents are a very common occurrence in the Chicagoland area, which result in the need of an accident investigation by a private investigator. According to the City of Chicago, 86% of traffic fatalities are caused by reckless driving behavior. 55% of pedestrian deaths are caused by hit and run crashes. From 2018 to 2024, the number of car crashes has been on the steady increase in Chicago, the majority of these crashes taking place on the city streets, and the highest percentage of fatalities were pedestrians. You’d expect these crashes to be the result of drunk drivers or impatient and erratic drivers, but this is not always the case. Recently RGH Investigations has been working with a case where the drunk driver was a trusted Chicago Police Officer.
A Party That Ends in Disaster
This accident investigation case began in December of last year, where a work holiday party was being held at a well-known venue in downtown Chicago. The party was to celebrate the year-end holidays for the Chicago Police Department. The concept is innocent enough. A police officer became severely intoxicated, and when it was time to leave, went home by car. As she was driving, she saw 2 women walking on the sidewalk. One woman dropped her phone, and as she was picking it up, the movement confused the police officer. She thought she slowed down her car as she approached the two women on the sidewalk, but instead, pressed the wrong pedal. Sadly, the car sped up and hit both women straight on. One was fatally injured, and the other survived but with serious injuries.
The families of both women opened a case against the police officer. The injured woman hired RGH Investigations and a corresponding law firm to help support her case. The family of the deceased victim hired another law firm. Both firms and RGH Investigations joined together to gather evidence from the scene of the crime.
Searching the City
The firms decided to sue the event, the City of Chicago and the police officer. RGH Investigations canvassed footage from the event location to see what had occurred that night and how much alcohol was consumed. We interviewed all the attendees of the holiday party. We went through all the police reports that were filed that night. We found that the Chicago Police Department had taken this matter into their own hands, and should not have, especially since the crash was done by one of their own officers. The intoxicated officer was taken to the hospital quite late, where her blood alcohol levels should’ve been measured much earlier. Instead, it was measured hours later, and since the results of the first blood test was invalid, the test was redone with more time in between results. About 6 hours after the incident, the blood alcohol level was down to 0.09%, which is above the accepted level of 0.08%. That means the alcohol level was much higher during the crash.
RGH Can Uncover the Details
As this is an ongoing case, we’re now waiting for more footage to be released of the party scene from the event. This can further create a more evidence-based case with a thorough investigation. Because fatal car accidents occur often enough, RGH Investigations has extensive experience in accident investigation. If you or someone you know needs to uncover additional details from a car accident, we are happy to help. We will delve into any route that will uncover the source of the accident. Contact RGH Investigations today for your accident investigation at 312-981-8770.
