Ill. Officer Responding to Call Killed in Crash

Jan. 20, 2017

Bloomingdale Police Officer Raymond Murrell died in a single-vehicle crash late Thursday night while responding to a crime in progress at a business.

Source Chicago Tribune

BLOOMINGDALE, Illinois -- A west suburban Bloomingdale police officer killed in a crash while answering a call had been on the force less than a year and is the suburb's first officer to die in the line of duty, officials said.

Raymond Murrell, 27, was responding to a call of a crime in progress at a store when his police SUV crashed around 9:30 p.m. Thursday at Army Trail Road and Cardinal Avenue, according to a news release.

Bloomingdale firefighters extricated Murrell from the car and he was taken to Adventist GlenOaks Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

"He loved being a Bloomingdale police officer," Police Chief Frank Giammarese said. "He will be sadly missed."

Giammarese did not know how fast the officer was driving or if his emergency lights and sirens were on at the time. The officer was the only person in the SUV.

The crash remains under investigation, though officials suspect weather could have played a role, he said.

The police chief said Murrell is the first Bloomingdale officer to die in the line of duty. He said Murrell had always aspired to become a police officer.

"He was just a wonderful young man that represented our Police Department so well at such a young age," Giammarese said. "He was well-liked with officers and within the community. He was just doing his job and lost his life."

Tribune News Service