Palatine man pleads guilty in Chicago hit-and-run that killed retired CPD Officer Richard Haljean

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A north suburban man will spend four and half years in prison after pleading guilty to the hit-and-run death of a retired Chicago police officer on the Northwest Side in 2022.

Ted Plevritis of Palatine pleaded guilty Tuesday to one count of failure to report an accident/death, and was sentenced to 54 months in prison.
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He was given credit for 678 days.

Plevritis was originally charged with several felonies, including failure to report an accident resulting in death, reckless homicide in a motor vehicle and aggravated use of a communication device resulting in death.

He hit and killed Richard "Rick" Haljean, 57, back in January of 2022, as Haljean was crossing the street in the 7500-block of West Touhy in Edison Park.
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The neighborhood is quite residential, but being just off Harlem Avenue and so close to Interstate 294, those who live nearby said that stretch of Touhy is quite dangerous, and has seen a handful of crashes, as vehicles speed through the area.

Plevritis surrendered to police about a month after the incident, and was placed on electronic monitoring.

Haljean served more than 30 years on the Chicago police force. He was also a Marine and father of three.



Fellow Chicago police officers set up a GoFundMe page to help pay for his children's education at the time.

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