Sergeant Fred M. Krueger

Fred M. Krueger

Sergeant Fred Krueger was killed in a motorcycle crash at the intersection of Lombard Avenue and Ontario Street while responding to a fire.

He and another motorcycle officer were at the Augusta Fire House when an alarm sounded for a fire near Austin Boulevard and Lake Street. The officers led a fire truck from the station south on Lombard Avenue. A ''chemical fire patrol car'' was also dispatched from the Municipal Building at 655 Lake Street. The motorcycle officer in the lead had just passed Ontario Street southbound when Sergeant Krueger and the chemical car, traveling eastbound on Ontario Street, entered the intersection at the same time.

Sergeant Krueger attempted to take evasive action as he entered the intersection. At the coroner's inquest, one witness stated that Sergeant Krueger ''saw that he could not turn into Ontario. The oiled surface told him that he would skid so he took a chance and tried to beat the chemical car across Ontario.'' Sergeant Krueger was struck and thrown off his motorcycle, landing on the sidewalk on the north side of Ontario Street, approximately 50 feet east of Lombard Avenue.

Sergeant Krueger had served with the Oak Park Police Department for 11 years. He was survived by his wife and three children. Under a newly enacted law, his family was awarded a police pension of $70 per month, representing half his pay. Sergeant Krueger was buried at Forest Home Cemetery.