Off-Duty Rockford Cop Pleads
Guilty to DUI
UPDATE 3/3/2014: ROCKFORD
(WIFR) -- The Rockford cop accused of drinking and driving has plead guilty to
two counts of Aggravated Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol.
Police say in May 2012,
off-duty Rockford cop Daniel Cruz was passing an SUV in a no-passing zone
southbound on Beloit Road when he struck a pick-up truck and collided with the
SUV near Townhall Road.
All four passengers of the SUV
were taken to the hospital, one of the passengers was paralyzed from the neck
down as a result of a spinal cord injury. Following the crash, Cruz began
walking away from the scene and was stopped by a firefighter approximately ¾ of
a mile from the accident scene. Cruz refused all chemical testing. A search
warrant was then obtained for an involuntary blood draw. Lab results later revealed
Cruz’s blood alcohol content to be .14 grams per deciliter.
Cruz was a thirteen-year
veteran of the Rockford Police Department who was off duty at the time of the
crash. He is no longer with the Department.