Charges have been filed against a suspect who led police on a vehicle pursuit through Mundelein before crashing into a squad car and fleeing on foot, leaving three officers injured.
Mundelein Police Chief Jason Seeley said his department received a 911 call for a report of a person who was bleeding and possibly shot in a parking lot in the 1100 block of West Maple Avenue around 2:12 a.m. Wednesday.
Responding officers located a person in a black pickup truck leaving the shopping center’s parking lot.
Officers attempted to conduct a traffic stop on the truck but the driver, who was covered in blood, refused to stop, Seeley said.
The fleeing truck drove at low speeds while continuously stopping and then driving off as officers attempted to make contact with them.
Video submitted to Lake and McHenry County Scanner showed the pursuit as it approached the intersection of Route 45 and Route 60.
The suspect vehicle entered the wrong direction of travel and appeared to try to hit the bystander vehicle as the driver recorded the incident.
Michael D. Norys II told Lake and McHenry County Scanner that he saw the police pursuing the pickup truck and thought it would continue southbound on Route 45 but it instead turned westbound on Route 60.
“I immediately reversed, pleading to myself to not get hit or involved in the pursuit,” Norys said.
“For a moment I thought the driver would crash into me to slow down the chase. Or possibly open fire even,” he said.
Officers continued the low-speed pursuit to the intersection of Route 60-83 and Diamond Lake Road where the truck collided with a Lake County Sheriff’s Office squad car that was assisting Mundelein officers, Seeley said.
The suspect, identified as Isidro Hernandez, 45, of Chicago, then exited the truck and ran from officers before being taken into custody after a short foot pursuit.
Hernandez was transported to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville for unspecified injuries.
Seeley said two Lake County sheriff’s deputies and a Mundelein police officer were also transported to the hospital and treated for minor injuries.
The Lake County Major Crash Assistance Team (MCAT) responded to investigate the crash because it involved a police car.
The Mundelein Police Department is handling the rest of the investigation.
Seeley said preliminary findings determined Hernandez’s injuries were self-inflicted and the initial reports of a shooting were inaccurate.
An arrest warrant was obtained by Mundelein police on Thursday charging Hernandez with aggravated fleeing to elude, resisting arrest causing injury, aggravated assault of a peace officer and driving on a revoked license.
Hernandez remains hospitalized and the warrant has not been served yet.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office is also working to obtain additional charges for Hernandez.
Seeley said Hernandez could also face additional charges by his department depending on toxicology test results, which are pending.