Officers captured a suspect who fled multiple times from police before he caused a crash that left two children injured, resulting in him fleeing on foot in Highland Park, officials said.
Officers with the Highland Park Police Department spotted a black 2024 Ram pickup truck around 3 p.m. Sunday in the area of Green Bay Road and Onwentsia Avenue.
The Ram had fled earlier from police officers in Arlington Heights, Buffalo Grove and Northbrook, according to Highland Park Communications Manager Amanda Bennett.
A Highland Park police officer activated his emergency lights in an attempt to stop the Ram but it fled. The officer did not pursue, Bennett said.
Moments later, a 911 call was received for a vehicle crash with injuries in the area of Green Bay Road and Bob-O-Link Road in Highland Park.
A preliminary investigation revealed that Taalaibek Arstanov, 40, of Schaumburg, was driving a black 2024 Ram pickup southbound on Green Bay Road at the intersection of Bob-O-Link Road, Bennett said.
The Ram crashed into a 2024 Audi Q3 and a 2023 Tesla Model Y.
Bennett said Arstanov fled the crash scene on foot but was located by police officers shortly after at the intersection of Lincoln Avenue West and Ridgewood Drive.
An officer displayed a taser while apprehending Arstanov but did not discharge it.
Arstanov was driving under the influence at the time and was found with an open bottle of vodka in the vehicle. He also had no proof of car insurance.
Officers noted the man was extremely intoxicated and defecated on himself.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Colleen McConnell said a child was transported to the hospital for whiplash. She suffered severe back pain and could not attend school on Tuesday or even hold her backpack.
She is a sophomore in high school who is on the dance team and will be missing her first performance at a basketball game this week due to her injuries.
A second child, who was not originally transported to the hospital from the crash scene, went home and could not stop vomiting, leading to her being transported to the hospital by her parents, McConnell said.
That girl is also a sophomore in high school and has also been unable to attend school due to her injuries.
McConnell said the two girls were in a car that was struck head-on by the Ram, which had entered into oncoming traffic.
The impact caused the victims’ vehicle to collide into the third vehicle, which was driven by an elderly woman.
The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office approved charges of two counts of leaving the scene of an injury crash, aggravated driving under the influence without valid insurance, driving under the influence of alcohol and fleeing or attempting to elude an officer.
Arstanov was additionally cited for transportation of alcohol by a driver, failure to reduce speed to avoid a crash, operating an uninsured motor vehicle, improper traffic lane usage and disregarding a traffic control device.
Arstanov was held for a First Appearance Court hearing in Waukegan on Monday and the state’s attorney’s office filed a petition to detain him pending trial.
Arstanov, who was accompanied by a Russian interpreter, kept his head down in the courtroom during a 30-minute detention hearing held on Tuesday afternoon where Lake County Judge Michael Nerheim ultimately granted the state’s petition, ruling that the man would be held in custody.
While the charges against Arstanov are not normally detainable under Illinois’ SAFE-T Act, prosecutors argued under a “catch-all provision” that allows non-detainable charges to become detainable if they threaten the infliction of great bodily harm.
McConnell said Arstanov is not a U.S. citizen and was deemed a “special interest alien” on his background report.
Arstanov remains held in the Lake County Jail and is scheduled to appear in court again on December 29 for a preliminary hearing.