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Retired Paramedic And Wife Killed In Chain Reaction Crash

CHICAGO (CBS) -- It appears a retired Chicago Fire Department paramedic and his wife were the victims of a drunk driver when they were killed in a high-speed crash early Sunday in the South Deering neighborhood.

Police said the crash happened around 1:15 a.m. Sunday on the 2100 block of East 103rd Street. A Chevy sedan speeding east on the 103rd Street bridge crossed into the oncoming lanes, and hit a grey Cadillac. The Cadillac then hit a brown Buick and the Chevy collided with a black Jeep, which flipped over.

Retired paramedic Ambulance Commander Richard Biehl, 63, and his wife, Susan, 61, were in the Jeep, and were killed in the crash, according to the Fire Department and Cook County Medical Examiner's office.

Robert Pitchford called the Biehls friends and neighbors.

"To leave the world in that way?" he said. "Talking about a person whose job was to help save lives, and here now his life is taken."

The Chicago Fire Department called Biehl's death a "senseless loss of life."

Police said the 30-year-old man driving the Chevy was taken to the University of Chicago trauma center in critical condition. Detectives believe alcohol was a factor in the crash, and the Major Accidents Investigation Unit was investigating.

Three other people were hurt in the wreck, but their injuries were not life-threatening.

The Biehls' family declined to speak on camera, but said the couple leaves behind two sons, three daughters, and 18 grandchildren.

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