An on-duty Chicago police officer who had been directing traffic in the Loop was struck early Thursday with a vehicle officials say was driven by a person they suspect was under the influence of alcohol.
The officer was standing in the street in the first block of West Ida B. Wells Drive, between South State and Clark streets, when he was hit by a Dodge Charger around 2:20 a.m., according to Chicago police said. The driver of the Charger “failed to stop and struck the officer,” according to a police media notification.
The officer was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital where he was being treated for injuries that were not considered life-threatening, police said.
There were two males in the Charger, the driver and a passenger, police said. Both were placed into custody after two handguns were located in the vehicle.
Authorities could not say early Thursday whether those arrested were adults or juveniles. A spokeswoman also said it was too soon to know if they had valid firearm owner identification cards, or if they were too young to legally possess a weapon.
Officials said the accident appears to be alcohol-related.
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