High-speed chase through downtown Elmhurst leads to arrest

A motion to detain pretrial an Oak Park man accused of leading police on a high-speed chase was granted Feb. 22 in DuPage County Court.

The 21-year-old offender, of the 1100 block of Washington Boulevard, is charged with two counts of aggravated fleeing and eluding a police officer and multiple misdemeanor and petty traffic offenses, according to a DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office news release.

About 10:53 p.m. Feb. 21, a Bensenville police officer on Route 83 allegedly observed a vehicle, later determined to be driven by the offender, pass him at a high rate of speed. The officer followed the vehicle, a Honda Civic, on northbound Route 83 when the Honda allegedly disobeyed a red light at Route 83 and Foster Avenue, made a U-turn and sped away from the officer on southbound Route 83, according to the release.

Police pursued the car southbound, allegedly reaching speeds in excess of 100 mph. As the pursuit continued, the offender allegedly weaved in and out of traffic and at one point drove on the shoulder of the road all while reaching speeds of about 120 mph.

The offender entered Interstate 290 eastbound to York Road into Elmhurst while continuing to travel over 100 mph. The offender continued to drive about 100 mph entering downtown Elmhurst and disobeyed multiple stop signs and traveled the wrong way on one-way streets at which time police terminated the pursuit out of safety concerns.

A short time later, the offender was found on North Avenue and Route 83 at which time a Department of Homeland Security helicopter began following the offender.

The offender drove on Interstate 290 to Interstate 355 to Interstate 390 east where the offender exited at Thorndale Avenue to northbound Route 83. The offender parked the vehicle in front of a business in the 1000 block of North Busse Road in Elk Grove Village at which time Bensenville police arrested the offender.

“The allegations that [the offender] sped through downtown Elmhurst at an extremely high rate of speed are outrageous,” DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said in the release. “Thankfully, no innocent pedestrians were injured or worse as [the offender] allegedly raced through town. In 2023, DuPage County witnessed an increase of approximately 65% in aggravated fleeing and eluding cases. Our response to this dangerous epidemic has led to a 20% decrease in these cases so far this year and we will continue these efforts to ensure we don’t have a repeat of this type of dangerous behavior in 2024.”

The offender’s next court appearance is scheduled for March 18 for arraignment.