Chicago police officer crashes through guardrail, down Kennedy Expressway embankment

A Chicago police officer was hurt Tuesday morning after driving her squad car off Foster Avenue and down an embankment, shutting down the outbound Kennedy Expressway for several hours.

The officer was responding to assist another officer at 4:40 a.m. when she missed a turn onto the expressway in the 5200 block of North Foster Avenue and drove through a guardrail, Chicago police said in a statement.

The squad car went 25 feet down the grassy median and onto the side of the Kennedy Expressway, where multiple utility poles appeared to be knocked over, according to Chicago Fire Dept. spokesman Larry Langford.

The officer was taken to a hospital in fair condition, Langford said.

The damage to the vehicle was “substantial,” he said.

The outbound lanes were reopened by 9:45 a.m., according to the Illinois Department of Transportation.