Overview

• March 19 incident: the Odeh family alleges Bedford Park officers let 36-year-old Miguel Alvarado access an unattended police SUV without handcuffs.
• Surveillance video shows officers standing nearby as Alvarado entered the vehicle and drove off from outside the station.
• Alvarado abandoned the police SUV on train tracks, hijacked a U.S. Postal Service truck and crashed into the Odeh family’s car in Chicago Ridge, severely injuring a 7-year-old boy and 4-year-old girl.
• Both children remain hospitalized with injuries that will likely require lifelong care, according to the family’s attorneys.
• Alvarado faces vehicular hijacking and reckless driving charges and the Bedford Park Police Department has not commented on the lawsuit.