Bond set for off-duty Chicago officer charged in fatal crash

Associated Press
Updated

CHICAGO (AP) — A 24-year-old Chicago police officer has been charged with reckless homicide and other crimes after authorities say he crashed his personal car into a restaurant while off duty.

Investigators say Terrance Finley's car jumped a curb early Sunday and plowed into Tony's Philly Steak on Chicago's South Side, killing a 35-year-old woman and injuring another. Restaurant owner Tawfik Damra says the scene "looked like an earthquake."

Police say Finley's blood-alcohol level was over the legal limit. He appeared in court Tuesday, where bond was set at $40,000. After the hearing, defense attorney Timothy Grace said his client was "mortified" by Reed's death.

Damra says many more customers had left the restaurant just two minutes before the crash.

Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson says Finley will be treated "just like anybody else" who's accused of a crime.