The Glenview police department and village officials and staff are mourning the loss of Police Officer Robert Fryc, 43, who was killed in a traffic crash Sunday morning in Barrington while on his way to work, per a police department news release. On Monday night, Barrington police announced they have charged a 23-year-old man with one count of reckless homicide in the crash.
Fryc, who had been with the Glenview Police Department since 2007, had been honored at the Feb. 4 Glenview Village Board meeting for his quick thinking and response that helped save a fellow officer’s life during an incident last year.
Barrington police said in a news release late Monday night that their preliminary investigation shows that Christopher Lopez, 23, of Cary was driving northwest-bound in the 200 South block of Northwest Highway in Barrington at 4:09 a.m. Sunday when his 2020 Kia Forte crossed into the southeast-bound lanes and struck Fryc’s 2004 Volkwagen Jetta.
The Barrington police and fire departments responded and took Fryc to Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead, according to the Barrington police news release.
After reviewing the police investigation, the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office approved one count of reckless homicide, a Class 3 felony, against Lopez, Barrington police said. He was scheduled to have a detention hearing Feb. 18 at the Cook County 3rd District Courthouse in Rolling Meadows.
At the Glenview Village Board meeting just 11 days before Fryc was killed, Glenview Police Chief William Fitzpatrick recounted a story of the life-saving work of Fryc and his colleagues. When Fryc drove by the car of a fellow officer who had arrived in the police department’s parking lot to start work one day, Fryc noticed the fellow officer, Mark Amerazian, was slumped in his vehicle, Fitzpatrick said.
Fryc stopped to check it out and set in motion a chain of events that summoned paramedics, who took Amerazian to the hospital, where doctors determined he had suffered a brain aneurysm. Fitzpatrick told the Village Board that without the work of Fryc and fellow first responders, Amerazian might not have survived.
On Sunday, after learning of the crash that took Fryc’s life, a news release from the Village of Glenview and the Glenview Police Department announced they had sent home the day shift officers who normally worked with Fryc, and that coverage of the shift was being temporarily assisted by law enforcement from Cook County and neighboring communities.
“Officer Fryc was more than just a colleague,” said Fitzpatrick. “He was a part of our family and a part of this community. Our hearts are broken by his passing, and our priority now is to support his loved ones and our department as we grieve this unimaginable loss together.”
After expressing his devastation and offering condolences to Fryc’s family, Village President Michael Jenny said, “When the time is right, we will come together as a community to honor and remember his service.”