A United Airlines employee is accused of driving off in a company car after fatally striking a bicyclist Monday evening in northwest suburban Des Plaines.
Daniel R. Wehr, 54, is charged with one felony count of leaving the scene of a fatal accident, according to Des Plaines police.
Officers first responded to the crash at Algonquin Road and Pennsylvania Avenue at about 9:40 p.m., a statement from police said. They found the bicyclist — 25-year-old Jose Piancante Gomez — unresponsive in the roadway, but the vehicle involved in the crash was not at the scene.
Gomez, of the 1000 block of Graceland Avenue in Des Plaines, was taken to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, where he was pronounced dead just after 11 p.m., police said.
Police learned the vehicle involved in the crash was a company car for United Airlines, and they traced it to the airline’s facility in the 1200 block of East Algonquin Road, the statement said.
Further investigation identified Wehr as the driver involved, according to police. He is an employee of United Airlines, Des Plaines Detective Cmdr. Randy Akin said.
Wehr was taken to the Des Plaines Police Department, where he gave a videotaped statement admitting he was driving the vehicle when Gomez was hit, according to police.
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An autopsy Tuesday found Gomez died of multiple injuries from being struck by a vehicle, and his death was ruled an accident, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
Wehr, of the 8600 block of North Frontage Road in Morton Grove, is scheduled to appear for a bond hearing Wednesday at the Skokie courthouse, police said.
A United Airlines spokeswoman said the company is “fully cooperating with authorities,” but would not provide further details.
