Fugitive Eludes Police After Epic Chase Through Chicago, Suburbs and O'Hare

As many as two dozen Chicago and suburban police squads and a helicopter engaged in a winding police chase that began in Lombard late Wednesday and moved along Chicago expressways to the downtown area, Lake View, Uptown, Rogers Park and other neighborhoods, as well as Oak Park, River Forest and other suburbs.

The fugitive is wanted in a homicide investigation in west suburban Lombard.

After almost two hours of running red lights, stop signs and driving the wrong way on Ashland Avenue in Chicago, officers curtailed their pursuit when the fleeing car made its way into O'Hare International Airport territory, reportedly onto a runway.

A police helicopter unit continued to track the vehicle as of midnight but was denied entry into airport airspace.

As of Thursday morning, the fugitive has eluded custody. The car, a Pontiac Bonneville, was found in Bensenville.

The State Police were radioed by Lombard police at 9:43 p.m., informing them the suspect had entered the Eisenhower Expressway toward Chicago.

Around 10 p.m., the long, snake-like parade of police cars began pursuing a silver, four-door Pontiac sedan through the streets of Chicago and at various points on the Eisenhower and Stevenson expressways then back into the suburbs. The chase ran through Oak Park, Forest Park, River Forest, Maywood, Northlake, Addison, Stone Park, Melrose Park and Bensenville, among other communities.

Speeds reached 80 mph on Lake Shore Drive, according to Chicago police.

The fugitive caused at least two accidents.

A Chicago squad hit another vehicle at Congress and Leavitt at about 10:05 p.m., according to Chicago police, sending two officers to Stroger Hospital. The driver of the civilian vehicle was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital. The injuries were not life-threatening.

A State Police cruiser struck the suspect's car at about 10:20 on North Ashland, and the suspect's car hit another vehicle which drove into a building at Ashland and Berteau on the North Side in Lake View, police said. The driver of that car was taken to Illinois Masonic Hospital and reported to be in good condition.

Pursuing officers also tracked the fleeing vehicle along parallel streets at times.

Lombard police told the Daily Herald that officers found a dead body in a home at about 2:30 p.m. and later identified a "person of interest" later in the day. When attempting to stop the suspect's car at 9:30 p.m., the driver fled. The car was found Thursday morning, abandoned in Bensenville.

“It was definitely a long pursuit," Lombard police Sgt. Michael Chudzinski told the Chicago Tribune. "But it was involving a serious incident and we were doing our best to apprehend the suspect and keep the public safe."

Twitter user Ian Petchenik tracked the chase on the police scanner and put together this Google map showing the fugitive's route. (follow him: @petchmo)

Patch will update this post as more information becomes available.

Many people followed the chase on Twitter, tweeting from their neighborhoods as the cars passed. Here's a glimpse of what that looked like in real time.

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