Joliet Officer Charged In DUI Death Along I-55

JOLIET, IL — Three felony charges were filed Wednesday against Erin Zilka, the Joliet police officer whose early morning crash along Interstate 55 near Plainfield killed her 33-year-old passenger, Charles Schauer, an off-duty Berwyn police officer.

Online court records at the Will County Courthouse show that Zilka was charged Wednesday with three Class 2 felony charges of aggravated driving under the influence involving an accidental death. The actual criminal complaint, as of 3 p.m., had not been made available to the public.

Since January, Zilka has been represented by Joliet criminal defense attorney has Jeff Tomczak. On Wednesday afternoon, a member of Tomczak's law firm told Patch that the lawyers are aware of the felony charges against Zilka, but they too have not seen the actual criminal complaint yet.

A spokesman for the Will County State's Attorney's Office told Patch the case is being handled by a special prosecutor.

During a January interview with Joliet Patch, attorney Jeff Tomczak told Patch: "She is completely devastated. I can't say how sad she is. She is completely and totally devastated. It's beyond my ability to express it."

Now 36, Zilka is in her seventh year on the Joliet Police Department. Before that, she worked for six years at the Shorewood Police Department.

For the past 11 months, Zilka has only faced one charge, a misdemeanor count of driving under the influence of alcohol. Following the wreck, Joliet Police Chief Al Roechner put Zilka on paid leave.

Patch previously reported that a Hino box truck driven by a Shorewood man had been involved in a previous crash and had come to rest in the right two lanes of traffic along I-55 near Plainfield.

The Dodge driven by Zilka approached the earlier crash scene, hitting the back of the box truck, according to state police.

Meanwhile, Roechner and his Internal Affairs unit has not issued any discipline against Zilka at any point this year, a separate FOIA request revealed. On Tuesday night, Joliet Patch published an exclusive story revealing that Zilka has made nearly $88,000 since Joliet's chief of police put her on paid leave following her crash.

Check back with Joliet Patch on Wednesday evening for additional updates.