Man charged with reckless homicide for I-294 crash that killed tollway worker
Christian Hannah | Cook County Sheriff's Office
SUN TIMES MEDIA WIRE - An Ohio man has been charged with reckless homicide for a hit-and-run crash that killed an Illinois Tollway worker last year on the Tri-State Tollway near south suburban Alsip.
Christian Andrew Davon Hannah was arrested Thursday for the crash that killed Tollway maintenance worker David Schwarz on Sept. 18, 2017, according to a statement from Illinois State Police. He was charged with a felony count of reckless homicide.
Schwarz, 48, was picking up debris at 12:23 p.m. from an earlier crash along the right shoulder of southbound Interstate 294 near 127th Street when a semitrailer sideswiped him and his vehicle, according to the Illinois Tollway and the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Schwarz’s truck was parked on the shoulder with its emergency lights activated and a caution board sign was set up warning motorists to slow down at the time of the crash, state police said. Hannah, the driver and sole occupant of the semi, drove away after the crash.
Witness statements and DNA evidence ultimately led to Hannah’s arrest, state police said.
Schwarz, who lived in south suburban Monee, was pronounced dead at 12:43 p.m., the medical examiner’s office said. An autopsy found he died of multiple injuries after being struck by at least one vehicle and his death was ruled an accident.
Schwarz served as an equipment operator laborer since beginning his career at the tollway in March 1992, according to a statement from the tollway. He was married and a father of two children.
Hannah, 26, appeared at the Cook County Courthouse in southwest suburban Bridgeview Thursday, where Judge Michael Joseph Kane set his bail at $175,000, according to Cook County court records. His next court date was scheduled for Feb. 22.