An Oak Lawn man was charged Monday with reckless homicide in connection with the death of a longtime Hometown police officer, according to Cook County sheriff’s office.

The charges came the same day as a procession for Lt. James Kouski, 58, of New Lenox, made its way through Hometown, where he had been on the force for 34 years.

Dozens of people, many waving U.S. flags, turned out for the procession that made its way along Southwest Highway through the suburb. Funeral services are not being held for Kouski.

“It was a fitting tribute to a hero,” Hometown Mayor Kevin Casey said.

Kouski, of New Lenox, was redirecting traffic shortly after 3 a.m. Saturday at the intersection of Pulaski Road and 90th Place, where an early traffic accident had downed a light pole, police said.

He was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he was later pronounced dead.

Casey said that Kouski’s death was the department’s first line-of-duty death since 1957. The department is comprised of part-time officers, and Kouski preferred working the midnight shift, the mayor said.

“He was a great officer, he did his job commendably,” Casey said.

He said that more than 70 police and fire departments took part in the procession, which ended with a final salute for Kouski at Robert J. Sheehy & Sons Funeral Home in Orland Park. Casey said that Kouski’s family did not want a

funeral service.

Otis M. Pruitt, 27, of the 9700 block of South Karlov Avenue, Oak Lawn, is charged with reckless homicide and felony driving under the influence, according to sheriff’s police.

Pruitt was taken to the hospital for treatment of injuries from the collision and was found to have a blood alcohol content greater than 0.08% three hours after the accident, sheriff’s police said.

Pruitt remains in the hospital and, at a hearing Monday, bond was set at $1 million. He would have to post 10% to be released and would be on electronic monitoring if he posted bail, according to the state’s attorney’s office.

Prosecutors said a witness who was driving north on Pulaski saw Pruitt’s vehicle being driven “in a reckless manner” and traveling at least 20 mph above the posted limit of 40 mph.

Kouski, wearing a traffic safety vest over his uniform, was outside his vehicle, which had its emergency lights on and was in the right lane of traffic, clearly visible, according to the prosecutors.

Pruitt’s car struck the officer’s squad on the rear passenger door, causing it to hit Kouski “who was thrown 40 to 50 feet away from his position and into the roadway,” according to the state’s attorney’s office.

Pruitt drove away over the raised center median and into the southbound lanes of traffic before his car hit a guardrail, prosecutors said.

After he was unable to drive off, Pruitt ran from the scene, but a witness called police and Oak Lawn officers located him in a nearby backyard, prosecutors said.

mnolan@tribpub.com