An infant and toddler are safe after a man crashed a stolen vehicle in which they were driving during a police pursuit early Thursday morning, police said.
A Lake County Sheriff’s Police officer at around 2 a.m. July 23 attempted to stop a stolen Toyota SUV on northbound Interstate 65 near 61st Street, Sherriff’s Spokeswoman Pam Jones said in a release. The driver wouldn’t stop and instead fled westbound on I-80/94 into Illinois.
The driver then struck a parked vehicle near West 115th Street and South Longwood Drive in Chicago. The impact caused the Toyota to flip on its side and slide, Jones said.
The driver, age 30, was taken to an area hospital for evaluation, though he didn’t complain of injury, Jones said, while the 3-year-old was scheduled to be released from the hospital with ear abrasions and the 3-month-old was admitted to a hospital for further evaluation.
A 26-year-old passenger, identified as the children’s mother, also was taken to a hospital with chest pains, Jones said.
No Lake County police officers were injured, and no Lake County patrol cars were damaged, Jones said. The Chicago Police Department is investigating the crash involving the parked vehicle.
Lake County Sheriff Oscar Martinez Jr. said in the release that officers evaluate daily whether to pursue stolen vehicles, and it’s a decision they don’t take lightly.
“It’s unfortunate in this case the driver chose to flee with children in the car, putting them at risk. It was impossible for officers to know there were young children in the vehicle,” Martinez said. “At the end of the day, a dangerous felon wanted on robbery and weapon offenses was arrested and no one was seriously injured.
“Our policy is to safely pursue people who break the law in Lake County regardless of where they drive in an attempt to evade police. For the past seven years, we have been very clear with the public that criminals cannot assume the state line is their safety net and that they can get away by simply crossing it.”
Charges are pending against the driver, who was found to have several active warrants for charges including a weapon offense, robbery, fraud and counterfeiting, through Lake County; Michigan City; Cook County, Illinois and Michigan, Jones said.
Authorities have also contacted the Indiana Department of Child Services regarding the children.
Michelle L. Quinn is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
