(The following report appeared on the Chicago Sun-Times website on March 22.)
CHICAGO — Police had a man in custody Wednesday night in connection with a fatal crash at the Berwyn Metra station earlier this month.
The crash occurred on March 3 when the man’s 2004 Range Rover barreled into the Harlem Avenue Metra station in the west suburb, killing 53-year-old Kathleen Talmage as she was leaving her job at the railroad station.
The 44-year-old man, who police allege was driving the sport-utility vehicle at the time of the accident, was being held at the Berwyn Police Station, but had not been charged as of about 8 p.m. Wednesday, Detective James Kenny said. The man was arrested on a warrant for leaving the scene of a fatal accident, Kenny said.
Further investigation is needed before charges can be filed, Kenny said. The man, who will remain in police custody, is expected to appear in a police line-up Thursday, the detective said.
“This is the guy we have been looking for since the get-go,” Kenny said.
The man was arrested at his uncle’s condominium in Oak Brook, at about 3:45 p.m. after the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office approved the arrest warrant, Kenny said. He did not know if charges would be filed against the uncle or any other persons who may have assisted the man.
“Anything can happen, I hope anyone who we can prove helped the person responsible will be held accountable,” Kenny said.
The Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force assisted Berwyn police with the investigation, Kenny said. He declined comment on whether DNA evidence helped police with the investigation.
Berwyn police had told the Chicago Sun-Times that DNA samples had been taken from the man’s mother and compared to forensic evidence obtained from his SUV. Police also executed a search warrant in the man’s home.