A 17-year-old girl is in custody after driving with a man on her car’s hood and then running him over, critically injuring him in Beach Park, while leading police on a vehicle pursuit that ended in Cook County.
A Lake County sheriff’s deputy was on patrol around 1:30 a.m. Monday in the 37800 block of North Sheridan Road in Beach Park.
The deputy saw two vehicles, one of them being a 2004 Toyota Camry, leaving a business at a high rate of speed, according to Lake County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli.
The deputy also saw a man, later determined to be a 19-year-old from Waukegan, on the hood of the Toyota.
The man was waving at the deputy for assistance, Covelli said.
The deputy attempted to conduct a traffic stop on the Toyota but the driver, a 17-year-old Winthrop Harbor girl, fled.
As the deputy pursued the Toyota, the driver of the second vehicle passed the deputy and pulled alongside the Toyota, Covelli said.
The driver of the Toyota swerved and abruptly stopped, causing the victim to fall off the hood of the vehicle.
The driver of the Toyota ran the victim over before fleeing again.
The victim was transported to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville with critical, life-threatening injuries.
The deputy stayed on the scene and rendered aid to the victim.
The driver of the second vehicle followed the Toyota and called 911 to give updates to dispatchers on the Toyota’s location.
A sheriff’s deputy located the Toyota traveling southbound on Interstate 94 and initiated a pursuit.
The deputy was joined by a sheriff’s sergeant and Illinois State Police Troopers.
One of the sheriff’s deputies was able to deploy stop sticks, which successfully deflated the tires on the Toyota.
The driver of the Toyota came to a stop on Interstate 294 at mile marker 41.75 near Rosemont.
The driver and two passengers were taken into custody and transported to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division where they currently remain.
A preliminary investigation shows the driver of the Toyota was involved in a minor traffic crash at the business she was originally from, Covelli said.
The victim attempted to intervene following the crash.
“It was during this intervention that the victim had no choice but to jump on the hood of the car, to avoid being struck at that time by the Toyota,” Covelli said.
The incident remains under investigation by sheriff’s detectives and the Lake County Sheriff’s Office Technical Crash Investigations Team.