Dash Cam Video Shows Deadly High-Speed Police Chase, Crash
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A deadly high-speed police chase ended in a fiery crash in Chicago this past summer. Two suspects died and four police officers were injured, and as CBS 2's Mai Martinez reports, the entire accident unfolded on a police dashboard camera video.
A video posted on YouTube appears to be from two Illinois State Police cars. It shows the July 1 crash and chaotic aftermath--including injured Chicago Police Department officers collapsing on the ground after escaping their police SUV, which caught on fire.
The high-speed chase began after an armed robbery in South Suburban Tinley Park. Suspects driving the 10-mile stretch of I-57 weaved in and out of traffic on Chicago's Far South Side, terrifying other drivers.
That day, witnesses were alarmed. "Police were coming from everywhere. They just speeded up. They were going real fast. By the time we got to Halsted there was a lot of traffic so the guys in the gold car, they got up on the sidewalk. At that point in time, I think the police should've cut it off," said witness Regina Raines, at the time.
But the pursuit continued until the suspects' car collided with the police SUV at 124th and Union.
The force of the impact flipped the car and sent it careening through a wheelchair ramp as the SUV crashed into Maxine Wells' home. She was just about to walk on the ramp, but heard the sirens and took cover behind her minivan.
Asked, "Do you realize that decision probably saved your life," Wells said, "Right. It did. It did."
Two of the suspects died in that crash. The four officers sustained non-life threatening injuries. The chase and crash are still under investigation.