Man Accused In Violent Bridgeview Crash Found Dead In Cook County Jail

BRIDGEVIEW, IL — A man charged in a violent vehicle crash in Bridgeview last month that left two children critically injured, was found dead of an apparent suicide Sunday afternoon in a residential treatment unit at Cook County Jail.

Miguel Alvarado, 36, with addresses in Ozone Park, NY, and Beaumont, TX, was under arrest for disorderly conduct March 19 in Bedford Park when officers said he jumped into one of their police vehicles and took off. Alvarado is said to have driven around the Chicago Ridge and Oak Lawn area until the police vehicle was disabled remotely. He is then alleged to have carjacked a USPS truck in Oak Lawn, forcibly taking the vehicle from a postal worker.

>>> Suspect In Violent Bridgeview Crash Faces Charges In 3 Different Towns

Later that afternoon, Bridgeview police said Alvarado was speeding northbound on Roberts Road when he slammed into a car driven by a mother with her two children in the back seat. Both children were in child safety seats. The mother and kids, as well as Alvarado, were taken to area hospitals with injuries.

Alvarado did not appear for his initial pretrial hearing March 21 at the Bridgeview Courthouse, on charges of aggravated possession of a stolen motor vehicle and aggravated reckless driving, because he was hospitalized at Advocate Christ Medical Center.

He was admitted to Cook County Jail’s residential treatment unit the next day. Alvarado also faced additional charges in Bedford Park for aggravated unlawful possession of a stolen police vehicle and vehicular hijacking in Oak Lawn.

A Cook County Sheriff’s official said Alvarado was discovered unresponsive around 2:53 p.m. Sunday in the shower area of Tier SF in the residential treatment unit. Staff immediately began life-saving measures. Alvarado was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, here he was pronounced.

A family spokesperson told Patch that Alvarado had been an electrical engineer in New York, as well as a U.S. Marine and combat veteran in Iraq.

“He suffered from a severe form of PTSD that causes psychotic disorders,” the family spokesperson said.

There is no evidence of foul play at this time, the sheriff’s official said. The cause and manner of death are pending autopsy by the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office. The Cook County Sheriff’s Office has also requested the Illinois State Police Public Integrity Task Force to conduct an independent investigation.

~ This story has been updated with new information.