Report clears Wheeling officer in crash that killed pedestrian

A Lake County Major Crash Assistance Team investigation has concluded that Wheeling police officer Preston Robertson could not have avoided a Sept. 14 crash that killed 20-year-old Fredi Morales of Des Plaines. courtesy of ABC 7 Chicago

A Lake County Major Crash Assistance Team investigation report released Monday clears a Wheeling police officer of wrongdoing in connection with a September crash in which his squad vehicle struck and killed a 20-year-old Des Plaines man.

But the report also confirms that the officer was driving fast -- a key point in a lawsuit filed against him and the village of Wheeling on behalf of the victim's family.

The 41-page report states officer Preston Robertson was traveling between 87 and 109 mph while pursuing a speeding motorist, as he claimed, when his patrol SUV hit Fredi Morales, who was crossing McHenry Road in the early morning hours of Sept. 14.

A postmortem blood test showed that Morales had a blood-alcohol level of .159 percent, according to the report. Anything over .08 percent would be considered legally intoxicated for a driver.

Toxicology reports showed that Robertson, a 23-year veteran of the department, had no drugs or alcohol in his system at the time of crash, the report states.

The investigation report concludes that Morales was wearing dark clothing and running across the roadway in front of Robertson's SUV while it was still dark outside at 5:43 a.m. that Sunday morning. The report states Robertson could not have avoided the collision.

"Given the conditions of this incident, the accident was unavoidable by the officer as he did not have enough time or distance to react to the pedestrian as he ran across the squad's path of travel," the report states.

But Michael LaMonica, an attorney for the firm that filed the lawsuit, said Morales' family has a different interpretation of the report's findings.

"The Morales family believes an officer traveling over 100 miles per hour without (emergency) lights or sirens on to pursue a car that was allegedly going 10 to 20 mph over the speed limit is excessive and unreasonable," LaMonica said.

Wheeling officials have expressed sympathy for the Morales family but are declining further comment on the report in light of the lawsuit.

The suit originally claimed that Robertson acted recklessly and negligently in his operation of the vehicle at the time of the crash, and that the village of Wheeling intentionally inflicted emotional distress on the family by leaving some of Morales' body parts at the scene of his death as long as 36 hours later.

Wheeling Village Attorney Jim Ferolo said the last claim was dismissed by a judge last month.

Ferolo added that the MCAT report concludes the accident investigation and confirms Wheeling's own findings that the officer did not act improperly. Robertson does not face any pending disciplinary action, Ferolo said.

Nevertheless, the lawsuit filed in Cook County circuit court seeks damages in excess of $50,000.

Morales' family members said Morales was out with his brother and some friends on that Saturday night and early Sunday morning, but had gotten separated from them and became lost while looking for their car.