Prosecutors say a driver was being pursued by police just before he ran a red light in Crystal Lake and caused a four-vehicle crash, which left a victim seriously injured, leading officers to track him by his GPS monitoring device.
The Cary Police Department attempted to conduct a traffic stop on a Mazda SUV, driven by Deondrae L. Clements, 35, of Elgin, around 9:11 p.m. Tuesday.
Clements drove into a nearby Jewel-Osco parking lot near Route 14 and Three Oaks Road and was seemingly complying with the stop, prosecutors said.
A criminal complaint said Clements turned his head around and looked at the officer.
He then fled from officers at a high rate of speed and they initiated a pursuit.
An officer reported driving at 75 mph while Clements was still pulling ahead of the officer, the complaint said, adding that Clements passed several other vehicles as he fled.
They terminated the chase due to Clements’ high rate of speed, prosecutors said.
The Crystal Lake Police Department and Crystal Lake Fire Rescue Department responded around 9:14 p.m. Tuesday to the area of Route 31 and Three Oaks Road for a report of a multi-vehicle crash.
Crystal Lake Deputy Police Chief Richard Neumann said officers arrived to find a four-vehicle crash with multiple injuries.
A preliminary investigation showed the Mazda SUV, driven by Clements, was driving westbound on Three Oaks Road toward Route 31.
The Mazda was traveling at a high rate of speed when it disregarded the traffic control light at the intersection, Neumann said.
The Mazda entered the intersection and collided with two sedans, which were both traveling southbound on Route 31.
Neumann said the Mazda continued through the intersection after crashing into the sedans and collided head-on with an SUV, which was eastbound on Three Oaks Road just west of Route 31.
The driver of the SUV suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries.
The victim reportedly suffered a severe hand injury that involved multiple fingers being amputated.
An ambulance transported the victim to the LifeNet medical helicopter base at Northwestern Medicine Hospital in McHenry and the helicopter flew the victim to a trauma center.
The drivers of the two sedans suffered minor injuries and were transported to local hospitals.
Prosecutors said Clements fled the scene on foot but was wearing a GPS monitoring device from an active case he was on pre-trial release in Kane County.
Court records show he was charged with aggravated battery causing great bodily harm and aggravated battery in a public place in that case.
Clements obtained a ride from the area but officers were able to track him through the GPS monitor and he was taken into custody by the East Dundee Police Department.
Clements suffered minor injuries, was treated at a hospital and arrested by the Crystal Lake Police Department.
A portion of the intersection of Route 31 and Three Oaks Road was shut down for approximately six hours while police investigated the incident.
Clements was initially charged by the Crystal Lake Police Department with failure to report a crash involving injury, aggravated reckless driving causing great bodily harm and driving while license suspended or revoked for driving under the influence.
He has since been additionally charged by the Cary Police Department with aggravated fleeing to elude police, driving on a revoked license, improper use of a passing lane and headlight or tailight violation.
Clements was transported to the McHenry County Jail and the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office filed a petition to detain him pending trial.
McHenry County Judge Cynthia Lamb granted the petition following an Initial Appearance Court hearing on Wednesday.
“This Defendant’s criminal history as well as his actions in this matter indicate that he has total disregard for the law and other persons or the community’s safety,” the judge said.
Clements is scheduled to appear in court again on July 30 for a status of preliminary hearing.