Chicago DUI, Chicago Police Officer and a Fatal Accident

On Friday,  I posted  about a tragic fatal accident involving an allegation of DUI out in L.A., now the tragedy strikes right here and involves a Chicago Police Officer.

April 11, Chicago, Il

An off-duty Chicago Police detective charged with killing two men in a drunken-driving crash has been involved in other serious wrecks, including one not far from the scene of Friday’s fatal collision on the Dan Ryan Expy. and another that injured two police officers.

At 5 a.m. on Jan. 27 of last year, Frugoli was driving a BMW sedan near the intersection of 37th and Wallace in Bridgeport when he allegedly ran a stop sign and struck the police car, injuring two officers, records show.

The officers who responded to the crash were investigated for failing to tell their supervisors in a timely manner that an off-duty officer was involved in the crash, but they were cleared of wrongdoing, sources said. Frugoli was cited in the accident, but the responding officers said they did not have evidence that Frugoli was intoxicated.

Just before 4 a.m. Friday, Frugoli was driving a Lexus SUV on the outbound Dan Ryan when he allegedly rear-ended a disabled Dodge near 18th, killing driver Andrew Cazares, 23, and his passenger, Fausto Manzera, 21. Cazares worked as a carpenter and Manzera was a DePaul University student.

Frugoli’s blood-alcohol level was more than three times the legal limit, sources said. He may have been drinking in a bar on Halsted on the Near West Side before Friday’s fatal wreck, the sources said.

If the allegations against the off-duty Chicago Police officer are true, how on earth are we going to get private citizens to recognize the dangers of DUI when we cannot get Chicago Police Officers to do the same?