By Kim Janssen
Chicago Sun-Times
LOCKPORT, Ill. — A police officer accused of causing a fatal crash on the Stevenson Expy. Sunday night had downed so much booze he was nearly three times over the legal limit to drive, prosecutors say.
Lockport police officer Eddie Stapinski, 34, had bloodshot eyes, reeked of alcohol and spoke with slurred speech after crashing into 29-year-old Chinatown IT worker Mike Wong, prosecutors said. His car was going 80 mph when it struck and killed Wong, they alleged Tuesday, as he was held on $750,000 bail.
Wong’s distraught family described the latest revelations as “outrageous.”
“We’re angry. We can’t believe we lost Mike like this,” said his aunt, Betty Wong, after Stapinski made a brief appearance before Judge Maureen Patricia Feerick at Bridgeview Courthouse. “If you’re three times the limit, there’s no question you shouldn’t be driving.”
Stapinski’s grandmother Monday said that Stapinski often drank in the city while watching Blackhawks games, and sources confirmed Tuesday that he was at West End, 1326 W. Madison, Sunday night.
At Tuesday’s hearing, prosecutor John Carroll said Stapinski told police he was driving 80 mph southbound on Interstate 55 near Cicero when he hit the median, launching his car into the northbound lanes.
Stapinski admitted drinking “a few beers” between 6 and 9 that night, and a witness saw him weaving in traffic shortly before the 9:35 crash, Carroll said.
The first trooper at the accident noticed Stapinski seemed drunk, but Stapinski refused a Breathalyzer, Carroll said.
A test taken at the emergency room soon after showed he had a blood alcohol level of 0.223 -- nearly three times the legal limit of 0.08, Carroll added.
Stapinski, watched closely by 10 of Wong’s relatives in court, spoke during the hearing only to confirm his name and that he owns his home in Lockport.
Defense attorney Matt Walsh asked the judge to set a “reasonable bond,” saying Stapinski presents a low flight risk. But Feerick said the law obliged her to take into account the alleged “public corruption,” agreeing with prosecutors’ request that bond be set at $750,000 and ordering Stapinski to hand in his firearms.
He “had a public job that gave him an insight into the seriousness of drinking and driving,” she said.
If convicted of reckless homicide and aggravated DUI, he could be jailed for up to 14 years. Lockport Police Chief William Kendziora said Stapinski will be on paid leave until an internal investigation is complete.
Copyright 2009 Chicago Sun-Times