Officer Charles Schauer Funeral
A funeral mass was held Saturday morning at St. Vincent Ferrer Church in River Forest for 33-year-old Charles "Chuck" Schauer of Glen Ellyn.
Schauer was a passenger in a vehicle driven by Erin Zilka, a 35-year-old Joliet police officer who was headed southbound when it crashed into a box truck early last Sunday.
Schauer, a police officer in suburban Berwyn, was pronounced dead at the scene. Zilka was taken to an area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, officials said.
Zilka was charged with misdemeanor DUI in connection with the crash that took place a little after 6 a.m. on I-55 at U.S. Route 30 near Plainfield, according to police.
"It is with great sadness that I share that we lost a member of the Berwyn Police Department,” Mayor Robert J. Lovero said. “Please keep Officer Schauer’s family and friends, as well as all Berwyn police officers, in your thoughts and prayers during this time of grief.”
An investigation by the Illinois State Police remains ongoing.
