Search fatalities

Maria “Tonie” Schwab

Age : 57

Gender : Female

Race : Latino/a/e

Date : 12/07/2023

Location : 300 block of North State Street

City : Chicago

County : Cook

State : Illinois

Agency : Chicago

Officer(s) :Tiara Brown

Cause of Death : Vehicle

Event : Pedestrian killed by off-duty officer driving under the influence

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

On 12/07/2023, 56-year-old Maria “Tonie” Schwab of Schertz, Texas, was killed when off-duty Chicago Police Officer Tiara Brown drove her SUV onto the sidewalk in the 300 block of North State Street in Chicago’s River North neighborhood. At approximately 12:30 a.m., Brown was driving when she became distracted while reaching for her cellphone, lost control of the SUV, jumped the curb and struck Schwab, pinning her against a metal fence. Schwab was transported to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where she died. Brown was initially cited for failure to reduce speed, failure to keep in lane, negligent driving and using a cellphone while driving and was relieved of her police powers. Subsequent investigation found Brown had a blood-alcohol concentration of .093. She was charged with aggravated DUI causing death, aggravated use of a communication device causing death, failure to render aid and reckless driving.
.
The officer was found to be intoxicated above the legal limit when causing the accident and in February of 2024 was charged with Aggravated DUI/Accident/Death, one felony charge of Aggravated Use of Communication Device/Death, two misdemeanor charges of Failure to Give Info/Render Aid/Injury and one misdemeanor charge of Reckless Driving. She was also cited for Failure to Reduce Speed and Improper Traffic Lane Usage.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/crime/ct-off-duty-cpd-crash-pedestrian-20231207-20231207
https://www.streetsblog.org/2023/12/09/tangie-brown-drunk-driving-crash-kills-maria-schwab
https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/chicago-police-officer-charged-in-crash-death-pedestrian/
https://abc7chicago.com/chicago-crash-woman-killed-house-of-blues-river-north/14150365/
https://chi.streetsblog.org/2023/12/08/after-trying-to-pick-up-her-phone-while-driving-suv-off-duty-cpd-officer-jumped-curb-and-killed-woman-56-on-sidewalk
https://www.fox32chicago.com/news/off-duty-chicago-cop-struck-killed-pedestrian-in-river-north-sources