Teen charged after 2 CPD officers hurt in Bronzeville crash involving stolen car
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A 17-year-old boy is facing charges, after two Chicago Police officers were injured Monday evening when a stolen Kia crashed into their squad car in Bronzeville.
Shortly before 8 p.m., the officers were in their unmarked squad car headed south on Cottage Grove Avenue, when a stolen Kia headed west on 38th Place slammed into them. The impact of the crash caused the officers to then crash into a building.
Three people inside the stolen Kia took off running after the driver hit the back of a parked car, but were later arrested.
The two officers involved in the crash suffered minor injuries, and were treated at the hospital.
Witnesses at the scene told CBS 2 they heard the crash and ran out to see people running.
"We came out and we saw people like running and shatters on ground," said Trinity Wymes. "We ran to the front and we saw the car in the building that's where the big boom came from."
Tuesday morning, police said a 17-year-old boy who was arrested had been charged with one felony count of armed robbery and one misdemeanor count of criminal trespass to a vehicle, after he was identified as one of the people who robbed a 16-year-old girl at gunpoint in the 4500 block of South Woodlawn Avenue just minutes before the crash.
Within a 10-minutes period, starting around 7:30 p.m. on Monday, police said five people were robbed in the Hyde Park area near the University of Chicago.
About 10 minutes later, the 16-year-old girl was robbed at gunpoint in the Kenwood neighborhood.
In each case, police said three suspects would approach the victims on the sidewalk and take off in a white Kia.
The crime spree had actually started on Sunday when the white Kia was stolen from Katrina Redding and Victor Brown's Englewood home overnight.
"The car was pretty much totaled. It had been in a bunch of crimes," Redding said, adding, "My fiance went out to take the dogs out and he came back in and noticed the truck was gone."
It was the second car that's been stolen from their home this year. And they said they're disgusted to hear their car was used to "take."
"I'm just really like, 'What's going on?' Because I've been in the neighborhood years now and none of that really happened," Redding said.
Brown added, "People try to take other people's belongings, people's hard working money and they try to take from people who already don't have and already barely make it."
"The car was pretty much totaled,"
Police have not linked the robberies and the crash yet, but did say the white Kia was involved in each of the incidents and three suspects are in custody.
Charges are pending against two of the suspects.