An on-duty Chicago police officer who had been directing traffic in the Loop was struck early Thursday by a vehicle officials say was driven by a person they suspect was under the influence of alcohol.

       The officer was standing in the street in the first block of West Ida B. Wells Drive, between South State and Clark streets, when he was hit by a Dodge Charger about 2:20 a.m., Chicago police said. The driver of the Charger “failed to stop and struck the officer,” according to a police media notification.

       The officer was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital where he was being treated for injuries that were not considered life-threatening, police said.

       There were two males in the Charger, the driver and a passenger, police said. Both were placed into custody after two handguns were found in the vehicle.

       Authorities did not say Thursday whether those arrested were adults or juveniles because charges had not yet been approved. A spokeswoman also said it was too soon to know if they had valid firearm owner identification cards, or if they were too young to legally possess a weapon.

       Officials said the accident appears to be alcohol-related.

       Charges were pending Thursday, according to police spokeswoman Karie James.

       James did not say why police officers were working traffic control at 2:20 a.m. Asked if it was related to the Mexican Independence Day car caravans that were happening downtown, she said in an email: “No other information is being released at this time.”

       kdouglas@chicagotribune.com

       Twitter @312BreakingNews

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