Roll of Honor
Incident
Police Officer William S. Bodnar, Jr. and Police Officer Thomas A. Wodarczyk were killed when their patrol car collided with a produce truck at the intersection of Van Buren Street and Morgan Street while they were chasing a stolen vehicle. They began the pursuit at 5:40 a.m., westbound on Van Buren Street from State Street. Approximately three minutes later another officer called in for emergency equipment to be sent to Van Buren Street and Morgan Street. Both officers were pronounced dead a short time later. The truck driver was northbound on Morgan Street, proceeding through the green light. His view of the oncoming squad car was partially blocked by an eight-story building on the southeast corner of the intersection. The stolen vehicle was later found abandoned. Officer Bodnar was assigned to the Central District.
Survivors
He is survived by his wife, son, and daughter.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-IL-F73B7E49- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- April 2, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Police Officer Bodnar served with the Chicago Police Department.
Thank you for your service to the Chicago community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Police Officer Bodnar.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Police Officer William S. Bodnar, Jr. is one of 10,088 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 31% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In IL, 354 of 1,318 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 26.9% of this state's fallen. That is 4.1 percentage points below the national rate of 31%.
At Chicago Police Department, 107 of 571 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 18.7% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. William S. Bodnar, Jr.'s cause is highlighted.
How William S. Bodnar, Jr. Compares
Offender Outcome
Not available
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. William S. Bodnar, Jr. is highlighted in Apr.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
570 officers from Chicago Police Department are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
