CHICAGO (Sun-Times Media Wire) -
Shaunda Bond had reason to celebrate.
The Chicago Police officer had recently been offered a new position within the department and she was just a day away from boarding a plane to vacation in Thailand, family said.
But as Bond headed downtown to celebrate late Friday, she crashed her SUV on the Chicago Skyway on the South Side and was killed.
The one-vehicle crash occurred near 81st Street on the skyway about 10:40 p.m. when the 2003 Land Rover Discovery Bond was driving struck a concrete barrier and rolled over, police said. Bond was the only person in the SUV.
Bond, 31, of the 4100 block of South Michigan Avenue, was dead at the scene, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's office.
"It's just like a nightmare," said Daphne Flores, Bond's cousin and best friend.
Flores and other friends had planned to celebrate Bond's new position on the tactical response unit, she said.
"She was very excited," Flores said. "Shaunda just liked working with people. It's just something she wanted to do."
Police could not immediately confirm if Bond, who had joined the department in December 2009 and worked in the South Chicago District, had recently been promoted.
But police did say Bond's older sister works in the police Major Accidents Investigation Unit and received the phone call when officers called to report the wreck, News Affairs Officer John Mirabelli said.
Bond's sister was on her way out to the scene, but then learned the name of the victim, Flores said.
"She couldn't believe it," Flores said, adding that Bond's sister did not end up going to the scene. "She's so glad God did not have her out there."
Bond's other sister is an officer with the Cook County Sheriff's Department, Flores said.
Bond, who grew up in the West Pullman community, always planned to be a police officer or a teacher, her cousin said.
"She enjoyed public service," Flores said.
And the fun-loving woman loved her family and doted on her mother, Flores said.
"There was nothing not to love," she said.
On Sunday, Bond planned to fly to Thailand for a 10-day vacation with a friend.
"We were so proud of her," Flores said. "She just had everything going for her."
