Alcohol Linked To Fatal Western Springs Crash: Cops

WESTERN SPRINGS, IL – The man who died in a fatal six-car crash last year in Western Springs was intoxicated, according to public documents.

After repeated public records requests, Patch obtained the Western Springs police report this week.

Joseph P. Mankiewicz, 44, of Chicago, was identified as the person who died. His obituary stated he was a graduate of Nazareth Academy in La Grange Park.

The crash occurred in the late afternoon on Sept. 29 on Ogden Avenue, near Gilbert Avenue.

The police said an autopsy indicated that Mankiewicz's blood-alcohol content was more than three times the legal limit.

According to the report, Mankiewicz's passenger told officers that he thought they both had four cocktails earlier at The Elm restaurant in La Grange. His passenger said they met up after the passenger dropped off his Tesla at the Tesla dealership in Westmont, police said.

The passenger said he could not remember what occurred after leaving The Elm, but indicated his neurologist advised he may recall later, the report said.

According to a police crash reconstruction, Mankiewicz was driving his Audi on Ogden Avenue when he tried passing a Toyota. He struck the Toyota's rear driver's side, causing the Audi to go airborne, rotate clockwise and hit a Hyundai Tucson, police said. That resulted in a chain of collisions that involved six cars in all, the report said.

Mankiewicz was pronounced dead at the site of the crash, while his passenger was taken to the hospital, the report said. The passenger wore a seatbelt, while Mankiewicz did not, police said.

Two other people in the crash were taken to the hospital, police said.