Chicago Fire defender hurt in Garfield Ridge hit-and-run rollover crash

Chicago Fire defender Johan Kappelhof was injured in a hit-and-run crash Thursday morning in the Garfield Ridge neighborhood on the Southwest Side.

A box truck crashed into two other vehicles at 9:22 a.m. in the 5900 block of South Harlem, according to Chicago Police. The crash caused one of the vehicles to roll over.

Kappelhof, 27, was driving the vehicle that rolled over, according to police and the Chicago Fire Soccer Club. He was taken in good condition to MacNeal Hospital in Berwyn and was later released.

Team officials confirmed that Kappelhof was driving to a training session at Toyota Park, 7000 S. Harlem Ave. in Bridgeview, when the crash occurred. He came to the park and saw his teammates after the crash, and did not appear to have any major injuries.

Kappelhof joined the Fire in 2016 and was named the team’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2017, according to team officials. He was selected to play in the 2017 MLS All-Star Game.

A 54-year-old man who was driving the other vehicle hit by the box truck was treated and released by paramedics at the scene of the crash, police said.

Jehad Hussein, 29, of Justice, ran from the scene after the crash, police said. He was later taken into custody by Justice police and identified as the driver of the box truck. He was subsequently charged with a misdemeanor count of driving on a suspended license and issued a traffic citation for failure to reduce speed to avoid a crash.

Mahmound Abu-Shtayah, 29, of Burbank, was a passenger in the box truck when the crash occurred, police said. After the crash, he got into the driver’s seat and drove the truck onto the Stevenson Expressway.

When the box truck broke down on the expressway because of the damage it sustained in the crash, Abu-Shtayah got out and attempted to jump into the Illinois and Michigan Canal, police said. He was subsequently charged with misdemeanor counts of reckless conduct, failure to give info or render aid to an injured person and criminal trespass to state land.

Both were expected to appear in court Friday.