A woman, who was reported to be armed, fled from police multiple times before crashing through a fence and driving her car into a pond on a golf course in Zion.
The Zion Police Department received a call around 6:30 p.m. Wednesday from a person residing in the area of 23rd Street and Gabriel Avenue.
Zion Police Department Lt. Derek Zaloudek said the caller reported that he was ending his relationship with his girlfriend and that she had made suicidal statements over the phone.
The statements mentioned the use of a handgun and her presence in a vehicle in the immediate area.
The caller said the woman did have access to a firearm but it was unknown if she was actively in possession of it, Zaloudek said.
Officers located the woman’s vehicle in the 2100 block of Gideon Avenue and it fled from them eastbound on Route 173.
Zaloudek said officers chose not to pursue her in order not to make the situation worse.
The woman’s vehicle was spotted again near the intersection of 23rd Street and Ezra Avenue and it fled again, traveling eastbound on 23rd Street.
Officers again chose not to pursue the woman. An officer was interviewing the 911 caller following the two encounters.
The woman then contacted the male complainant and claimed she was harming herself with a knife inside the vehicle, Zaloudek said.
Officers again spotted the vehicle near the intersection of 24th Street and Gideon Avenue.
She again failed to stop for police and a pursuit was initiated due to her increasingly erratic behavior, Zaloudek said.
The pursuit passed northbound through the 2300 block of Gabriel Avenue and officers attempted to deploy tire deflation devices.
Zaloudek said the woman avoided the devices and drove eastbound off the roadway around 7:30 p.m.
The vehicle crashed through a chain link fence bordering the Shiloh Park Golf Course and her car drove into the water.
The car became partially submerged in the pond and the Zion Fire Rescue Department was called.
Firefighters launched a water rescue while officers worked with the male complainant to try and talk the woman out of her vehicle.
The man was ultimately able to talk the woman out of her vehicle and helped her to shore, Zaloudek said.
An ambulance transported her to a nearby medical facility due to her self-harm injuries and for a mental health evaluation.
Zaloudek said charges could be filed against the woman for fleeing from police but officers are first looking into alternative options due to the circumstances of the incident.