Crime & Safety
Coroner IDs Man Killed After Police Chase, Crash
The Wisconsin man was fleeing police in a stolen Lexus when he collided with a GMC Yukon in Lake County, police said.
LAKE COUNTY, IL — The Lake County Coroner's Office has identified the 32-year-old Wisconsin man who was killed after he lead police on a high-speed police chase before colliding with another vehicle near Zi0n.
Tyler Johnson died from blunt force injuries as a result of the crash, according to preliminary results from an autopsy.
Johnson died following a two-vehicle collision, which happened at Route 173 and Kilbourne Road in unincorporated Zion at about 4:30 p.m. Saturday, according to a news release from the Lake County Sheriff's Office. Prior to the collision, Johnson lead authorities on a chase, which started in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, when police tried to pull him over in a stolen Lexus GS400.
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The driver, who was suspected in several area burglaries and also wanted on a warrant for possession of methamphetamine, fled authorities at a high rate of speed. His license was also revoked, according to a news release.
Officers used a tire-deflating device to puncture one of the driver's tires, but he continued fleeing at a high rate of speed, police said.
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The Lexus, while driving recklessly and "excessively fast," crashed into a GMC Yukon at the intersection of Route 173 and Kilbourne Road near Zion.
The driver, who was the only person in the car, was killed, police said.
The driver and seven passengers in the Yukon were injured. A front seat passenger in the GMC, a 51-year-old from Waukegan, sustained critical injuries and was taken to an area hospital, according to a news release.
The driver, a 30-year-old Waukegan man, and several rear seat passengers, sustained injuries that were not considered life-threatening, according to authorities. The passengers included a 20-year-old Waukegan woman, 28-year-old Waukegan man, a 15-year-old Waukegan boy, 15-year-old Montgomery girl, 11-year-old Waukegan girl and an 8-year-old Waukegan girl.
Several were taken to area hospitals, according to police.
An autopsy for the Wisconsin man will be scheduled with the Lake County Coroner's Office, and his name is being withheld.
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