An off-duty Chicago Police officer was killed in a crash early Sunday in southwest suburban Forest View.
At 2:05 a.m., the officer was stopped on a motorcycle at a red light at the Central Avenue exit off the southbound Stevenson Expressway. As the light turned green, he drove forward and his motorcycle was struck by a northbound car, which ran a red light, Forest View Police Chief Steve Good said.
The officer, who was wearing a helmet, was taken to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood where he was pronounced dead, Good said. The officer was later identified as 49-year-old Charles "Chuck" Barango, a 14-year veteran of the Chicago Police Department.
"First of all, just let me share my condolences, and my thoughts and prayers go out to the family of the officer," CPD Superintendent Eddie Johnson said at a news conference Sunday morning. "He was off duty at the time he was struck by another vehicle and fatally injured."
The driver of the car was checked and treated at the scene but did not go to a hospital, Good said.
Charges against the driver are pending, according to Good.
