Miguel Alvarado Dies in Cook County Jail After Car Theft Charges

On Sunday, March 19, 2025, Miguel Alvarado, a 36-year-old man charged with stealing a police squad car and a U.S. Postal Service truck, was found dead in the Cook County Jail in Cook County, Illinois. Alvarado faced charges of aggravated possession of a stolen vehicle and aggravated reckless driving stemming from a series of events that unfolded earlier that day in the south suburbs. The Cook County Sheriff's Office has reported that foul play is not suspected in his death, and an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident remains ongoing.

The sequence of events began around 2:45 p.m. on March 19, 2025, when Alvarado allegedly stole a Bedford Park police squad car while officers were responding to a call in the 6800-block of South Archer Road. After abandoning the disabled patrol vehicle near 97th Place and Avon Avenue in Chicago Ridge, he reportedly forcibly took a USPS truck from a postal worker. Driving northbound on Roberts Road, Alvarado crashed into a vehicle carrying a family of three—a mother and her two children, ages 4 and 7—resulting in injuries. The children were transported to a hospital in stable condition, and the mother was also injured.