Off Duty Chicago Police Officer Killed In Crash

CHICAGO (CBS) -- The Cook County Examiner's Office has identified an off-duty Chicago Police officer killed in a crash early Sunday in southwest suburban Forest View as Officer Charles Barango.

Officials say at 2:05 a.m.,  Barango, 49, was stopped on a motorcycle at a red light at Central Avenue, after exiting the Stevenson Expressway.

As the light turned green, he drove forward and a northbound vehicle ran a red light and hit the motorcycle, Forest View Police Chief Steve Good said.

At a Sunday morning news conference, police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said Barango was a 14-year department veteran who was assigned to the 5th District tactical unit.

When asked whether the driver who struck Barango was drunk, Johnson said it was too early to say definitively, "but that could very well be the issue."

The male driver of the northbound vehicle is in custody. Charges are pending.

The officer, who was wearing a helmet, was taken to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood where he was pronounced dead at 2:58 a.m., Good said.

In:
• Chicago Police Department
• Stevenson Expressway