An off-duty Wauconda Police officer and his wife were seriously injured in a fatal three-car crash April 25 near Rockford that also injured a Romeoville man, Shorewood man and Oswego woman.
Tim Geroulis, 29, was driving a Toyota RAV4 with passenger Michelle Geroulis, 30, on Interstate 39 in Ogle County about 2:45 a.m. April 25 when the crash occurred, according to Illinois State Police.
A passenger in the back seat accompanied the couple and was uninjured, Wauconda Police Chief Dave Wermes said.
Tim Geroulis, who lives with his wife in Plainfield, primarily serves the Wauconda Police Department Marine Unit and also is an officer with the Holiday Hills Police Department and other security positions, according to family friend Danielle Weston, who initiated a DoorDash Meal Train donation site for the couple.
Michelle Geroulis is a registered nurse, Weston noted in her fundraiser, which had collected more than $13,000 by May 3.
Airlifted in a “flight for life” helicopter to a Rockford hospital, Wermes said, Tim Geroulis suffered fractures to his left arm, both hips and legs, and ruptured internal organs, and was placed in a medically induced coma.
He remains in the hospital in Rockford with Michelle Geroulis, who is conscious but has fractures in her left leg and minor fractures in her spine, Wermes said.
The couple, who the chief said was returning from a family gathering, was driving south on I-39 near mile marker 104, according to ISP.
A Honda CR-V traveling north crossed into the southbound lanes and struck the Geroulis’ vehicle head-on. The Toyota was sent into the air and struck a Chevrolet Malibu traveling south behind it, police said.
The Honda’s driver, Clearthis Gardner, 79, of Maywood, was killed in the crash, authorities said.
Wermes said ISP had issued a Silver Alert for Gardner, and said there had been multiple calls reporting a driver going the wrong way on I-39.
The driver of the Malibu, James Gregory, 35, of Romeoville, also was taken to an area hospital as were passengers Robert Nudera, 29, of Shorewood and Allison Anderson, 30, of Oswego, officials said.
Tim Geroulis, sworn in Sept. 8, 2020, is a part-time Wauconda Police officer whose primary focus is with the Marine Patrol Unit, Wermes said. Geroulis also worked many special events such as Wauconda Fest and Shop with a Cop.
“He dedicated a lot of his time for events at the police department,” said Wermes, Wauconda’s police chief nearly eight years after serving 27 years with Schaumburg police.
In 2021 Geroulis received department commendation at the annual Wauconda Police awards ceremony for saving three people clinging to a capsized boat in Bangs Lake during a severe storm Aug. 29, 2021.
Geroulis’ supervisor, Wauconda Police Sgt. Mike Aiardo, is assembling a fundraiser for the Geroulis family through the Wauconda Police Department. All proceeds will go to the family. Aiardo also is accepting donations for the family. They may be made by check written to Tim or Michelle Geroulis and mailed to: Sgt. Mike Aiardo, Wauconda Police Department, 311 S. Main St., Wauconda, IL 60084. For information, call Aiardo at 847-865-0405.
“Tim is a dedicated police officer, committed to the residents and the village of Wauconda,” Aiardo said. “We are truly, deeply impacted by this tragedy and will keep the family in our continued prayers.”
https://www.dailyherald.com/news/20230503/wauconda-marine-officer-and-his-wife-seriously-injured-in-head-on-crash