Driver Afraid of Non-Existent Warrant Flees Police at 107 mph

A Burbank man led police on a chase up to 107 mph because he reportedly thought there was a warrant for his arrest, though there were no active warrants for him.

A Riverside police officer stopped the car at 2:05 a.m. Jan. 6 near First Avenue and Parkview after he saw the driver vomiting and throwing something out the window, according to Riverside police.

As the officer walked toward the car, it fled southbound on First Avenue toward Ogden. It continued southbound on First Avenue to Route 171 and onto northbound Interstate 55. The officer didn’t chase the car after it reached 107 mph.

An emergency broadcast over the Illinois State Police Emergency Radio Broadcast System described the car, license plate and the driver.

An hour later, around 3:05 a.m., Burr Ridge police saw the car near I-55 and Route 83. The car ran off the road into a grassy ravine. The driver, later identified as Julian E. Martinez, 21 of the 7500 Block of South Lockwood in Burbank, ran away but was caught by Burr Ridge and DuPage County Sheriff’s Police, Riverside police reported.

Martinez and his passengers were turned over to Riverside police.

Martinez reportedly told police he fled because he thought he had a warrant for his arrest, but he had no active warrants. Police reported Martinez and his friends had smoked cannabis and driven around Riverside earlier in the day, but they didn’t possess cannabis at the time of the investigation, and Martinez was not impaired.

Martinez was charged with felony aggravated fleeing and eluding, failure to signal, improper lane use and speeding 107 in a 50 mph zone, police reported. The passengers were not charged. The car was impounded.

Photo courtesy of Riverside police.