Two women in a crosswalk were struck by a Grayslake police car and injured after being thrown to the ground from the impact early Thursday morning.
Grayslake Police Department Deputy Chief Jeff Myrha said that the crash happened around 1:11 a.m. at Center Street and Seymour Avenue.
A Grayslake police officer driving in a marked police car was westbound on Center Street when the officer struck the two women in a crosswalk, Myrha said.
The women, a 22-year-old Third Lake resident and a 30-year-old Grayslake resident, had suffered minor injuries and an ambulance was called. Initially, the two women declined to be transported to the hospital by ambulance but later went to the hospital.
A friend of the victims said that they suffered bad bruising and scrapes from being thrown to the ground during the collision. They have since been treated and released from the hospital.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office responded to investigate the crash. The officer involved told investigators that the two women ran through the intersection as he was turning onto Seymour Avenue, Myrha said.
However, the two women struck by the officer said that he apologized to them at the scene and told them that he accidentally hit the gas instead of the brake, according to information provided to Lake and McHenry County Scanner.
Lake County Sheriff Spokesman Sgt. Christopher Covelli said that both women were approximately halfway across Seymour Avenue in the designated crosswalk when they were struck by the officer, who was making a left turn.
Both women had a blood alcohol content above the legal limit to drive a vehicle, Covelli added. An investigation is ongoing by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.