COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — A Belmont Cragin man has been charged with running a red light and fatally striking an off-duty Chicago Police officer early Sunday.
Andres Quinones, 33, appeared in court Tuesday in suburban Bridgeview, where prosecutors charged him with aggravated DUI causing death and leaving the scene of an accident.
Bail was set at $100,000, according to Tandra Simonton, a spokeswoman with the Cook County State's Attorney's office.
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Officer Chuck Barango, 49, was riding his motorcycle early Sunday when he exited the Stevenson Expy. at Central Avenue about 2:05 a.m., police said. That's when Quinones ran a red light and slammed into Barango's bike, authorities said. The officer was wearing a helmet at the time.
He was pronounced dead at 2:58 a.m., according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's office.
Barango, of the 5700 block of West 63rd Street, was a 14-year veteran of the Chicago Police department, most recently working with the Calumet District's tactical team.
Former partner Pat Thiry described Barango as a model citizen and officer who took his job seriously. The pair worked in Englewood before being assigned to a saturation team that responds to areas dealing with gun violence.
"He was so experienced and knowledgeable," Thiry said. "I learned a lot from him."
Barango was also friendly and loyal. Thiry recalled once mentioning needing to install a koi pond at his mother's house; Barango immediately asked where she lived and when to be there.
Barango survived a brain tumor that threatened his vision. The surgeon who operated on Barango five years ago told the Sun-Times that Barango wanted to get back on the force and was proud to be an officer.
He did return to the force, but less than a year ago, Barango was injured in a car accident while on duty, Thiry said. He said a car that Barango and officers were chasing ended up hitting his squad car.
"It was pretty bad," Thiry said.
In the interim, Barango worked as a consultant for the NBC show "Chicago P.D." He consulted the show on SWAT situations, said the casting company that works with the show, which posted video of Barango working with the cast.
"He was a man that any bad guy would be worried to cross, but we knew him as a truly warm-hearted teddy bear," the company wrote on Facebook.
Monday was to be Barango's first day back on the job, his old partner said.
Quinones will next appear in court Oct. 17.
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