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41:'s traffic problems made him a household name. His peers gave him the nickname "Flying Officer Leonard Baldy". He died in a fiery crash on May 2, 1960, when his helicopter threw a rotor blade and crashed in a railroad yard near Milwaukee Avenue and Hubbard Street.
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He became the most visible department spokesperson when he provided lectures and taught classes to civic groups, organizations, and educational institutions on the topic of traffic safety. He provided the first helicopter traffic report over
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to detect the speed of vehicles (April 1954). He also wrote the first ticket in the world for speeding using a radar device. As a patrolman in the mid-'50s he appeared in a television commercial directing traffic.
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In 2006, his son, Tim Baldy, published a biography entitled
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Officer Down
Memorial Page-Patrolman Leonard F. Baldy
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37:traffic reporter. His sometimes comical look at
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46:Lane Technical College Preparatory High School
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145:WLS Radio-traffic reporter Leonard Baldy
29:(February 15, 1927 – May 2, 1960) was a
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48:(also known as Lane Tech) and was a
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35:helicopter
69:radar gun
54:Signalman
247:Archived
39:Chicago
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60:Markab
209:2013
188:2013
175:ISBN
58:USS
78:WGN
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