A Tinley Park police officer who was charged with drunken driving and other traffic offenses after allegedly leaving the scene of a crash earlier this month has resigned from the department, Tinley Park Village Manager Scott Niehaus said Friday.John Leonard, 37, of Tinley Park, was charged with one felony — leaving the scene of a personal injury accident — and Frankfort police also issued him three traffic citations in the May 1 incident.
Leonard was off duty but was driving a village-owned 2010 Ford Explorer when he rear-ended a Buick at the intersection of LaGrange Road and Lincoln-Way Lane in Frankfort at about 1 a.m. and fled the scene, according to police.
Leonard, who had been on paid administrative leave, resigned Friday, according to Niehaus, who also said the village would drop its internal investigation into the matter as a result. Niehaus said Leonard’s last day will be Wednesday but that he will be using vacation time until then and not working.
The felony charge carries a one- to three-year prison sentence or probation, according to Will County state’s attorney’s spokesman Chuck Pelkie. Frankfort police also cited Leonard for drunken driving, illegal transportation of open alcohol and failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident, Frankfort Cmdr. Robert Krause said.
A 49-year-old passenger in the Buick was treated and released at St. James Hospital in Olympia Fields. The other driver was not injured.