Will County Sheriff's Office, Illinois
End of Watch: Sunday, February 10, 1985
Age: 27
Tour of Duty: 6 years
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Vehicular assault
Date of Incident: January 22, 1985
Weapon Used: Automobile
Suspect Info: Charged with Reckless Homicide
Will County Sheriff's Deputy Raymond Topolewski succumbed from injuries he sustained in a hit-and-run accident on January 22nd. Deputy Topolewski of Bolingbrook died at 9:34 p.m. at St. Joseph Medical Center, where he had been confined since the accident.
The hit-and-run accident occurred as Deputy Topolewski stood near his squad car in the 100 block of Patterson Road investigating a rape complaint. Deputy Topolewski and another deputy were dispatched to the scene at approximately 9:51 p.m. Both parked their cars off the road. Deputy Topolewski was talking to the complainant as the second deputy, who parked in front of Deputy Topolewski, was walking to join the two. He noticed a car going southbound off the road at a high rate of speed.
The moving car hit Deputy Topolewski's squad car, which then hit the second deputy and spun him around. The moving car then grazed the woman's leg and struck Deputy Topolewski. The car continued south on Patterson Road.
On January 24th, the hit-and-run driver went to the Laraway Road Station to report his vehicle had struck a fence on Woodruff Road the night of the hit-and-run accident. Police arrested him for the accident after questioning him. Originally he had been charged with leaving the scene of a personal injury accident and driving under the influence of intoxicants and was free on a $1,000 bond. After Deputy Topolewski's death, the Will County State's Attorney's Office filed an additional charge of reckless homicide.
Deputy Topolewski had served with the Will County Sheriff's Office for six years. He is survived by his mother, also a Will County Sheriff's Deputy, his father, a brother, and a sister.