From: ERRI EMERGENCY SERVICES REPORT-EmergencyNet
NEWS Service-Wednesday, August 27, 1997-Vol. 1 - 239
IN MEMORIUM...
CHICAGO POLICE OFFICER KILLED IN
TRAGIC ACCIDENT
By Paul Anderson, ERRI Analyst
CHICAGO (EmergencyNet News) - A Chicago Police Department squad
car plunged 25 feet Monday from an overpass onto the Dan Ryan
Expressway on the city's South Side. A Chicago police officer was
killed and a second officer was critically injured early Monday
when their car swerved, vaulted a curb and crashed through the
guardrail on 79th Street.
Police said the car had swerved to avoid pedestrians during an
emergency call shortly after midnight. Killed was 6th District
Patrol Officer David C. Evans, 39, an 11-year veteran and a
father of three. He had recently switched from days to the night
shift to spend more time with his children.
The driver of the car, Patrol Officer Estella Johnson, 33, was in
critical condition at Christ Hospital in suburban Oak Lawn with
broken ribs and other injuries.
The 25-foot section of railing where the accident occurred, built
of three- tiered beams of aluminum, appeared much newer than an
adjacent stretch of rusty railing on the eastern part of the
south side of the overpass. But the concrete holding the
guardrail appeared crumbled in places, and the force of the car
ripped the support poles from their bases. Current construction
practice uses steel for such guardrails, or concrete barriers.
Experts say that they doubted that having a concrete barrier
would have made a difference. A spokesman for the city
Transportation Department said, "That guardrail can only
hold against so much. We had no indication there was a problem
before the accident occurred."
Police said the two officers, who were paired for the first time
on Sunday night, were eastbound on 79th with their lights and
siren activated. They were responding to a call for help from
paramedics in the 7900 block of South Vernon. The police car
swerved to avoid striking a pedestrian in the road, then swerved
again to avoid striking other pedestrians at a bus stop. The car
crashed through the guardrail and cyclone fence, flipped upside
down and landed in the northbound lanes of the Dan Ryan
Expressway.
Accident investigators said that the car had been traveling at a
high rate of speed. But because the car hit a concrete curb and
guardrail, it will be difficult to determine its speed, according
to police.
Off-Duty NYC Patrolman Killed in "Gang-land Type" Attack
NEW YORK CITY (EmergencyNet News) - An off-duty New York
policeman has died of multiple gunshot wounds he suffered in an
"execution-style" slaying outside his house in a quiet
Brooklyn neighborhood. Police Officer Ralph Dols, a 28-year-old
father of three, was gunned down as he left his car after work
late Monday.
Police said Officer Dols was approached by three men as he got
home at about 2340 EDT. At least one man opened fire, hitting him
at least five times in the legs, arms and torso. Dols died seven
hours later at Coney Island Hospital.
New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani called it an
"execution-style" killing and said it appeared to have
been well-planned. Police said homicide detectives do not have a
motive for the slaying, but sources say one theory under
investigation is a possible personal dispute between the officer
and people associated with organized crime. The officer was
assigned to the city housing bureau.
Police officials said that the death still remains under
investigation and that all possible leads are being followed.
The Staff of EmergencyNet News and the Emergency Response & Research Institute would like to send their prayers and condolences to the family, friends, and co-workers of both officers who gave their lives while in the service of their communities.
(c) Copyright, EmergencyNet NEWS Service, 1997. All Rights
Reserved. Redistribution without permission is prohibited by law.
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