Pursuit of Stolen Car Ends In Chicago
Just after 7:30 PM, on November 6, 2024, a police officer with the Lake County Sheriff’s Department received an alert from an automated license plate reader about Toyota RAV 4 SUV that had been stolen, according to Lake County Sheriff Oscar Martinez Jr.
Having confirmed the active stolen vehicle report, the officer arrived to a location in the Hammond area where he observed a vehicle with a matching license plate and description traveling northbound on Cline Avenue approaching the ramp to westbound I-80/94.
The officer attempted to conduct a traffic stop, but the driver accelerated at a high rate of speed traveling westbound on I-80/94. The driver fled in a reckless manner and continued to travel west; heading into Illinois.
The fleeing driver began to travel on side streets in Chicago and crashed into another vehicle near W. Tilden and S. Clinton Streets. The SUV continued onto the sidewalk striking two trees before coming to a stop in the 400 block of South Clinton Street.
The driver was taken into custody by a Lake County Sheriff’s Department police officer and two officers from the Chicago Police Department.
He was identified as a 50-year-old male with a last known address in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Martinez stated. He was medically cleared and booked into the Cook County Jail.
The case remains under investigation.
