Jim Crowley, Chicago police officer who suffered brain injury after drunken driver accident, dies at 59

Former Chicago Police Officer Jim Crowley, who suffered traumatic brain injuries at the age of 22 when a drunken driver hit the squad car he was riding in, has died.

He was 59.

He died Aug. 22 as a result of the injuries he suffered that tragic night in 1987, according to the Chicago Police Memorial Foundation.

Mr. Crowley had been living in a group home in San Marcos, Texas, where he had been receiving specialized care.

Since the accident — which killed fellow police officer William Morrison — Mr. Crowley used a wheelchair and needed help with every aspect of his life.

In 2019, his younger sister, Beth Carter, made it her mission to bring Mr. Crowley home to Chicago to celebrate Christmas and be with friends.

She raised more $7,400 through a GoFundMe campaign, flew to Austin, Texas, rented an RV and drove 22 hours to bring him home to hear the cheers of fellow officers who gathered at Barraco's restaurant in Mount Greenwood — his old neighborhood — for the occasion, which the Sun-Times covered.

"I feel like someone special," Mr. Crowley, whose speech was limited, said at the time.

"I really wanted to get him home this Christmas and have him experience having my family around him for Christmas because, honestly, he didn't sign up for this accident. It happened to him and took away everything, and I wanted to give him some semblance of what Christmas and family and loved ones really feel like all around him," she said in 2019.

"So if I had to walk down I-35, he was coming home."

Carter, Mr. Crowley's only sibling, became a nurse after the accident to help guide her brother's care.

Mr. Crowley was injured in the accident in the 1500 block of South Ashland Avenue while he and four of his fellow officers were responding to a “man with a gun” call in September 1987.

The driver of the vehicle was convicted of reckless homicide and was sentenced to three years in prison.

“On behalf of the Chicago Police Memorial Foundation and all Chicagoans, we are forever grateful for the sacrifice Officer Crowley and his family made in service to our community,” said Phil Cline, executive director of the Chicago Police Memorial Foundation. “Jim led a very difficult life in the years following the accident but always managed to keep a positive outlook. We pass our sincerest condolences on to the Crowley family, especially his only sister, Beth, who did so much to care for him over the years.”

A wake will be held Tuesday from 3 to 9 p.m. at Andrew J. McGann & Son Funeral Home, 10727 S. Pulaski Road.

A funeral mass will be held Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. at St. Christina Catholic Church at 3342 W. 111th St.