Cop car on way to call crashes into Little Village home containing children, causing wooden beam to fall into living room
A Chicago police officer crashed through a fence hitting a Little Village home where four children were inside while responding to a call Friday night, according to a traffic crash report.
No injuries were reported.
About 10:40 p.m., police officers received a call that a police officer crashed into a home in the 2800 block of South Keeler Avenue, the report said. They found an unmarked 2017 police Ford Explorer plowed into the surrounding fence and side of a home.
The officer said that while he was driving west in an eastbound-only road to the call, he tried to avoid a crash with a 2017 Honda Civic at the intersection of 30th and Keeler, but the squad car hit the Honda and ricocheted, hitting the fence and the home, the report said.
The driver of the Honda said that while he was driving south on Keeler, he made a complete stop at the stop sign at 30th and Keeler, and as he was entering the intersection, he saw an SUV going in the wrong direction, the report said. He tried to accelerate to avoid crashing but was still hit.
The owner of the home said that he, his wife, daughter and grandson were on the second floor when it happened, the report said.
On the first floor, a man said that he and his four children — ages 2, 9, 10 and 13 — were home at the time of the crash, which caused a wooden “load bearing structure beam” to plunge into their living room, causing structural damage” and debris to scatter but no physical injuries.
EMS arrived on scene but everyone declined medical attention, though at least one officer in the police car complained of neck, back and leg pain.
Representatives from the city’s department of buildings were called to the scene and the home’s occupants found somewhere else to stay out of safety concerns, the report said.
