UpdatedMon, Apr 5, 2021 at 6:48 pm CT
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Otis Pruitt, 23, of Oak Lawn is charged with reckless homicide, felony DUI and failing to yield to an emergency vehicle. (Shutterstock)
HOMETOWN, IL — An Oak Lawn man has been charged with fatally striking a Hometown police officer who was directing traffic in the early morning hours of April 3 for an unrelated DUI crash, prosecutors said. Otis Pruitt, 27, was charged with reckless homicide. Bail was set at $1 million during a bond hearing Monday afternoon at the Bridgeview Courthouse.
Lt. James Kouski, 58, was a 34-year-veteran of the Hometown Police Department. Kouski was born and raised in Hometown, and lived at New Lenox at the time of his death. Kouski worked the night shift and was directing traffic away from a fallen light police around 3 a.m. Saturday for an unrelated DUI accident near 90th Street and Pulaski Road.