Family Sues Two Chicago Officers in Fatal Crash
Two Chicago police officers are being sued more than seven years after a car they were pursuing crashed into a brick wall, killing a 19-year-old man.
The family of Luis Vazquez said Officers Anthony Oliver and Eugene Bikulcius "wantonly and recklessly" contributed to Vazquez's death by speeding excessively, failing to discontinue their pursuit of the vehicle, and failing to use their Mars lights among other claims in the lawsuit, which was filed Tuesday in Cook County Circuit Court.
Early on a Sunday morning in 2006, police began pursuing Daniel Solano, 20 at the time, when they saw his Pontiac speeding down the road and running a stop sign, the Tribune reported. Vazquez was a passenger in the car.
Vazquez and Solano were heading south in the 4500 block of South Pulaski Avenue as police chased their vehicle when the Pontiac hit a brick wall at 45th and Pulaski.
Vazquez is survived by his mother, Carmen Vazquez; his father, Martin Vazquez; his sisters Araceli Vazquez and Nancy Uribe; and his brother, Tony Campa.
The family, which is suing the city of Chicago as well, is asking for $100,000 and the costs of the suit.
Bikulcius was suspended from his position as a police officer for at least six months in 2011-2012 after he drove drunk on his motorcycle while off duty in 2007. A passenger on his motorcycle was killed when the motorcycle collided with another vehicle.
A woman driving the vehicle Bikulcius collided with was found at fault for causing the accident and Bikulcius received no traffic citations, but he did have a blood alcohol content of 0.24, more than three times the legal limit.
Chicago law department spokesman Roderick Drew declined to comment Tuesday because the city hasn't been served with the lawsuit.
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McClatchy-Tribune News Service
