Law enforcement is facing a rise in motorists who flee rather than stop when police attempt to pull them over.
Last week alone, the Illinois State as well as Addison, West Chicago and Westmont police arrested and charged four individuals with at least one count of aggravated fleeing and eluding in unrelated incidents, according to a DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office news release.
The defendants also were charged with other misdemeanor and petty offenses.
“In 2025, DuPage County recorded a total of 409 fleeing and eluding a police officer and aggravated fleeing and eluding a police officer cases, a 159% increase in just five years,” DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said in the release. “The fact that four out of four defendants accused of this behavior this past week have been detained pre-trial sends a strong message that in DuPage County we do not tolerate this type of dangerous behavior that puts the public at great risk.”
In the first incident, Ivan Rankins, 25, of the 16W400 block of Honeysuckle Rose Lane, Willowbrook, was charged with aggravated fleeing and eluding in addition to multiple misdemeanor and petty traffic offenses including DUI, reckless driving and driving with expired plates, according to the release.
About 1:58 a.m. March 28, Rankins fled a Westmont police officer on Route 83 near 55th Street, reaching speeds of about 110 m.p.h., before abandoning the car at a Burr Ridge pantry and being arrested, authorities said.
His next court date is scheduled for April 28.
Three days later, Angelo Navarro, 20, of the 900 block of S. Stewart Avenue, Addison, fled Addison police after an officer spotted Navarro’s SUV parked on the sidewalk at Michael and Valerie lanes at about 8:34 p.m, authorities said.
During the chase, which reached speeds of about 56 m.p.h. in a 35-mph zone, Navarro allegedly ignored multiple stop signs and at one point drove into oncoming traffic, according to the release.
He is facing two charges of aggravated fleeing and eluding as well as multiple misdemeanor and petty traffic offenses including driving a motor vehicle on a sidewalk, reckless driving, driving while license suspended and speeding.
He’s next scheduled to appear in court on April 27.
On April 2, Carlos Barrera, 20, of the 30W200 block of Brown Street, West Chicago, fled police at about 11:45 p.m.
West Chicago police attempted to pull Barrera over on Ann Street, but he fled at a high rate of speed and ultimately reached speeds of about 100 m.p.h. on Roosevelt Road, according to the release.
At one point during the pursuit, the officer was traveling head-on toward Barrera’s vehicle and Barrera struck another car that was stopped at a stop sign in order to evade the officer.
Barrera is charged with two counts of aggravated fleeing and eluding a police officer, one count of aggravated unlawful possession of a weapon and multiple misdemeanor offenses including battery and driving while license suspended, according the release.
About 2:14 a.m. April 6, Dionna Curtis, 41, of Fairburn, Georgia, was driving her vehicle eastbound in the westbound lanes of Interstate 88. When an Illinois State Trooper attempted to stop her, she allegedly continued to drive at about 64 m.p.h., according to the release.
As Curtis fled from the officer, she allegedly switched lanes multiple times without signaling and at one point, almost struck a semi-truck head on. She then quickly accelerated away from the officer before pulling over to the left shoulder and stopping, authorities said.
Curtis’ BAC at the time was .192. She also is charged with misdemeanor and petty traffic offenses including two counts of DUI, transportation of open alcohol by a driver, improper lane usage and violation of minimum speed limit on tollway. Her next court appearance is set for May 4.
In each of the four cases, the court granted the state’s motion to deny pre-trial release for the defendant.
“A triple-digit-increase of a dangerous behavior that needlessly puts the general public at great risk is completely unacceptable,” Berlin said in the release. “Law enforcement in DuPage County is committed to bringing an end to this epidemic. Our officers are extremely well trained and will aggressively, yet safely, use every tool at our disposal, including helicopters, drones and the assistance of neighboring jurisdictions, to arrest and charge anyone who attempts to flee from police.”