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North Chicago Cop Charged In Deadly Lake Shore Drive Crash

By Quinn Ford | March 16, 2013 7:42pm

CHICAGO — An off-duty suburban police officer is facing criminal charges after a wrong-way crash on Lake Shore Drive left two men dead Friday morning.

Terrell Garrett, a North Chicago police officer, was formally charged Saturday with two counts of aggravated DUI and two counts of reckless homicide, according to Sally Daly, a spokeswoman with the Cook County state's attorney's office.

About 4 a.m. Friday, Garrett, 35, entered Lake Shore Drive's southbound lanes at LaSalle Street heading north, police said. Garrett's SUV struck a Scion between Belmont Avenue and Diversey Parkway before smashing into a Jeep, police said. Authorities said Friday morning that alcohol was suspected to play a role in the crash.   

The two men in the Jeep were killed. They were identified as Fabian Torres, 27, of the 2800 block of South Avers, and Joaquin Garcia, 25, of the 2200 block of West 18th Place, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office.

Garrett, who became a North Chicago cop in 2008, was stripped of his police powers and placed on administrative leave following his arrest Friday, according to a statement from North Chicago Police Chief James Jackson.

"We have absolutely no tolerance for officers whose actions fall outside the very laws they are asked to enforce," he said.

Following the crash, Garrett was taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center where he was treated for a fractured hip, police said. A woman driving the Scion that was also involved in the accident was sent to Northwestern Memorial Hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening, police said.