We rely on the police to protect us from criminals including drunk drivers, but one Illinois couple is in the hospital with serious injuries after an off-duty cop is alleged to have gotten drunk before getting behind the wheel.
Just before 9:30 p.m. on Thursday, September 5, Springfield, Illinois police officer Michael Egan allegedly smashed his car into a couple who were riding a motorcycle. The force of the impact threw Chelsea Farley and her boyfriend Trevor Hopkins off the bike and sent them to the hospital with critical injuries.
Footage of the aftermath of the crash has been circulating on social media, and Egan appears to be drunk and stumbling. The officer had apparently retired from his job the very same day of the crash after 20 years on the force.
The family and many onlookers are furious at what they think is special treatment given to a fellow officer by responding police. No one administered a breathalyzer test to Egan, and he was apparently let go with only a ticket. Egan apparently refused to take the breath-alcohol test, and it was four hours before anyone drew blood to test his alcohol level. Now that the incident has the public angry, the Springfield PD is now opening an internal investigation. But the Illinois State Police are in charge of investigating the accident.
Chelsea Farley’s outraged sisters posted a video on X (Twitter) this past weekend that showed footage of the scene after the crash. In the post, the woman alleges that cops performed a field sobriety test on her sister and her boyfriend, the victims, but not on officer Egan. She said “he would be in jail like anyone else” if he had not been a fellow police officer.
Another sister, identified as Caitlyn Weiss, told media their family wants the truth as Chelsea Farley was so badly hurt that she has a series of surgeries ahead of her that will probably take a total of ten hours.
According to a statement from the Illinois State Police, Micheal Egan was driving his Toyota Tundra (a pickup truck) on East Lake Shore Drive when he cut off the Kawasaki motorcycle carrying Chelsea Farley and Trevor Hopkins; Egan apparently failed to give the right of way.
