ILLINOIS DRIVER FLEEING POLICE HOSPITALIZED WITH CRITICAL INJURIES AFTER TOLL ROAD CRASH
Just before 2:10 PM, Friday, (02/16/2024), police officers with the Lake County Sheriff’s Department began pursuing the driver of a Honda Civic for numerous traffic violations, according to Lake County Sheriff Oscar Martinez Jr.
The pursuit started on northbound I-65 and continued onto the Indiana Toll Road heading west. At the state line near the toll plaza, officers attempted a maneuver to safely stop the vehicle, but the driver managed to get away. He began driving the wrong way on the Toll Road into oncoming traffic; eventually striking another passenger car head on.
This pursuit occurred minutes after a Hobart Police pursuit of fraud suspects where one of the suspects in a red sedan bailed out on foot near 61st & I-65, according to Hobart Police. That subject was apprehended by a police K-9 and the red sedan continued northbound on I-65. Police did not continue to pursue this vehicle after the foot chase with the passenger. It’s unclear at this time if the two cases are related.
The suspect from the tollroad crash is a 20-year-old man from Waukegan, Illinois. He was transported to an area hospital with potentially life-threatening injuries, Martinez said. The vehicle he was driving was also stolen from Chicago.
The vehicle struck by the suspect head on was carrying a family of four. The occupants of this car were transported to area hospitals for evaluation.
An investigation of the incident is ongoing.
