Man charged, held in custody in crash that killed Glenview, Illinois police officer
A man was charged with reckless homicide Monday in a crash that killed a Glenview, Illinois police officer on his way to work over the weekend.
On Tuesday, a judge at the Cook County Courthouse in Rolling Meadows ordered the man, 23-year-old Christopher Lopez of Cary, to be held in custody on charges of reckless homicide.
Lopez is charged in the crash that killed Glenview police Officer Robert Fryc, 43, in Barrington early Sunday morning.
The crash happened around 4:09 a.m. in the 200 block of South Northwest Highway in Barrington.
Barrington police said Lopez was headed northwest on Northwest Highway when he veered into the southeast-bound lanes and hit Fryc's vehicle.
Days later, there were no visible signs of the crash that killed Officer Fryc — a collision so powerful, prosecutors say, that it pushed Fryc's car onto a snow-covered sidewalk.
Fryc was rushed to Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital Barrington, where he died.
After the crash, Lopez was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, and was taken to Advocate Good Shepherd for further DUI testing, police said.
After a review of evidence, the Cook County State's Attorney's office approved a felony charge of one count of reckless homicide against Lopez.
After the judge denied pre-trial release for Lopez, he left court in tears. His family cried through the hearing Tuesday.
Officer Fryc's family did not attend the hearing.
At the hearing, Lopez's attorney put an equal emphasis on Lopez's conduct after the crash — arguing that it was an accident, and that Lopez is distraught and no threat to the public.
Prosecutors said Lopez admitted to drinking at a banquet hall before the crash. The prosecutors said officers found a tequila bottle in Lopez's car and what looked like marijuana residue in an empty pill bottle—adding that he was going 9 to 10 miles over the speed limit when he crossed into oncoming traffic and hit Fryc's car.
A breath test in the field put Lopez's blood-alcohol level at .059 — and a second one at .03. Both of these are below the state's threshold of .08 for drunken driving.
"His main focus the entire time was making sure the officer was OK," said Alex Ktenas, an attorney for Lopez. "From the entire incident, his main concern was, 'Is this individual OK?'"
While Lopez will remain in custody for now, his attorney said they will appeal. His next court date is March 14.
Officer Fryc served with the Glenview Police Department since 2007 and was recently recognized at the Village's Feb. 4 Board of Trustees meeting for being one of the first responders who helped save the life of a fellow officer, Mark Amerazian, last summer.
"He stopped and he looked, and he found Mark slumped over on his side, incoherent, and passing in and out," Glenview police Chief William Fitzpatrick in honoring Fryc. "He immediately called dispatch."
Officer Amerazian was suffering a brain aneurysm. As Officer Fryc was honored two weeks ago, Officer Amarezian expressed his gratitude.
"They got me to the hospital. These guys saved my life," Amerazian said. "You guys are my heroes."
As for Lopez, this was his first arrest — though he has two speeding incidents on his record.
