New details released in crash involving Chicago police vehicle

New details in crash involving Chicago police

A newly-surfaced surveillance video is raising questions about a crash involving a Chicago police vehicle that sent a young family to the hospital and damaged several cars on the city’s West Side.

CHICAGO - A newly-surfaced surveillance video is raising questions about a crash involving a Chicago police vehicle that sent a young family to the hospital and damaged several cars on the city’s West Side.

What we know:

The collision happened just after 6 p.m. on June 22 at the intersection of Monroe Street and Kostner Avenue. 

The video, captured by a convenience store security camera, appears to contradict the official account from police.

The footage showed a Chevrolet Equinox coming to a complete stop at a stop sign while heading westbound on Monroe. Moments later, a Chicago police vehicle traveling northbound on Kostner was seen maneuvering around a line of stopped cars and crashed into the Equinox. 

The impact pushed both vehicles into a parked Volkswagen, hitting it on both ends. Another nearby car was also damaged in the chain reaction.

Inside the Volkswagen were Danielle Howse’s fiancé, a 28-year-old man, and their three small children. All four were taken to the hospital in fair condition, authorities said. The Volkswagen was totaled.

Despite the video, police say the Equinox struck the squad car and cited the driver for three violations, including driving without insurance.

What they're saying:

Howse, who viewed the video, is demanding accountability and plans to file a formal complaint.

"They hit the SUV. They struck that lady and she was hanging, basically hanging out of her vehicle," said Howse. "I have to pay $900… but it's not my fault. Of course we have insurance. That's a $40,000 car. People on the West Side of the community are people too. We have lives, we have jobs, we have children. We are integral people. We're not just anybody and you cannot just do anything over here in the community that you don't even live in and then go back to your home and think it's going to be okay. There's a thing called ‘you reap what you sow' and this is it."

Mercedes Nunez, 29, claims Chicago police crashed into her vehicle while she was driving the Equinox. According to a police report, she slowed down but didn't fully stop before hitting a marked squad car at Monroe and Kostner. 

She said the video FOX 32 obtained tells a different story. Nunez was unconscious following the crash and was later cited for failing to yield to an emergency vehicle, driving without registration and operating an uninsured car. 

"There's no way I couldn't provide and I think that it was ignorant to issue a ticket on the assumption I didn't have insurance and then the failure to yield. In the crash report, it also states that the flow of traffic when hit was stopped. If I failed to yield, why was I stopped when I was hit? I thought I was supposed to stop when I hear the noise or see an ambulance. Wouldn't that be failure to yield? But if I kept going, when I had got hit, it's like I don't know. The registration, I need an admissions test, so that's valid," Nunez said. 

What's next:

Chicago police have not commented further and are sticking to their original version of events.

The Bureau of Internal Affairs is investigating the crash.