Crestwood Officer Hit By Car Investigating Accident: Police

CRESTWOOD, IL — A Crestwood police officer was injured when a driver failed to yield to emergency vehicles that were on the scene investigating an accident early Saturday evening, police said. The officer is in serious condition at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn.

Anthony Orsi, of Chicago, was charged with failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident, failure to yield to an emergency vehicle (Scott’s Law), and driving while licenses suspended under summary suspension for DUI.

Around 6:40 p.m. Nov. 21, Crestwood police responded to a car accident in the southbound lanes near 141st Street and Cicero Avenue. Two officers in fully marked police cars were investigating the accident and were blocking the curb lane of traffic with their emergency lights activated.

An officer had returned to his patrol car to grab some paperwork and was leaning inside the passenger side door when a car described as a 2013 Dodge failed to yield to the police vehicle, police said.

The Dodge was traveling at a high rate of speed when the driver, later identified as Orsi, smashed into the rear of the patrol car, which struck the squad car, police said. The officer was thrown to the ground. The impact pushed the officer’s squad car into the other police vehicle that was on the scene.

The officer was treated and transported by the Crestwood Fire Department to Advocate Christ in serious condition and remains hospitalized at this time.

An accident report was completed by the Cook County Sheriff’s Police and is being investigated by the Illinois State Police Accident Reconstruction Team, police said.

Orsi was due for a bond hearing Sunday at the Leighton Criminal Courts Building.