Man Who Says He Was Chasing Down Wife's 'Stalker' Causes Accident, Charged with Reckless Driving

Police arrested a 29-year-old Tinley Park man last week after they say he was instigating an accident with another driver on Harlem Avenue.

Jeffrey J. Staack, of the 17300 block of Harlem Avenue, was charged Wednesday with reckless driving, police said.

Police responded shortly before 7 p.m. to the 16200 block of Harlem, where they said Staack caused a crash involving a woman who was driving northbound on Harlem. She said that while she was driving, she saw Staack "making obscene gestures and yelling at her."

She told police she knew Staack, as he was once friends with her father, who was a passenger in the car the woman was driving. Staack began tailgating and chasing the car, the woman said, nearly striking other vehicles while he did so. 

"(The victim) stated that Jeffrey pulled to the right of her and abruptly attempted to strike her vehicle," the report said. 

The woman steered to the left to avoid him and ended up driving over the median, damaging the undercarriage of her car, she told police, and another driver rear-ended her as she hit the median.

Staack told police that the passenger in the victim's vehicle—the woman's father—was stalking his wife. Staack said the woman’s father, identified in the report as "Robert," had driven in front of his home slowly, according to the police report.

"Jeffrey stated he decided to get into his vehicle and quickly chase down Robert," the report said. "Jeffrey related he drove as fast as he could to catch up to (the victim) in order to obtain the license plate."

In addition to reckless driving, Staack was charged with operating an uninsured motor vehicle and driving a vehicle with an expired registration.