A suburban Chicago man has been charged in a January hit-and-run crash that killed a retired Chicago police officer.
Ted Plevritis of Palatine is charged with reckless homicide in the the death of Richard Haljean, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. He is also charged with failure to report an accident involving a death and aggravated use of a communication device. He allegedly was using his cellphone at the time of the collision.
Plevritis was to appear Thursday for a bond hearing, and it was not immediately clear if he has an attorney who could speak on his behalf.
Haljean, 57, was crossing a road on Jan. 20 in Chicago's Edison Park neighborhood when he was struck and killed by a vehicle Plevritis, 62, was driving, Chicago police said.
A police accident report states that Plevritis “did not stop to render aid" to Haljean and continued driving and fled the scene.
A passerby administered CPR to Haljean, 57, but he was pronounced dead after taken by ambulance to Resurrection Hospital, according to police.
Another witness told police he saw “the entire chain of events,” while a third person provided video of the accident, according to the police report.
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Emergency crews also recovered the front license plate of the Jeep at the scene.
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