Four charged in Southwest Side crime spree that ended in crash that killed innocent woman
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Four people, including three teens, have been charged in connection with a Southwest Side crime spree that ended with a crash that killed an innocent woman.
Police said four people carjacked two women Wednesday night, set a pickup truck on fire, and ended up crashing into a 55-year-old woman's car, killing her. This also involved a police chase.
All four people were taken into custody after that crash, and now face criminal charges.
A 17-year-old boy has been charged with one count of murder, and three counts of aggravated fleeing.
Another 17-year-old boy has been charged with felony counts of possession of a stolen motor vehicle and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon; and misdemeanor counts of criminal trespass to a vehicle and possession of ammunition without a valid FOID card.
A 15-year-old boy has been charged with aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, and criminal trespass to a vehicle.
Enrique Angeles, 22, of Crystal Lake, is charged with a misdemeanor count of criminal trespass to a vehicle.
Court information was not immediately available.
Police have said, Just before 4 p.m. Wednesday, four people carjacked a woman near 34th Street and Claremont Avenue in McKinley Park, just off the Stevenson Expressway. Next, they carjacked another woman about two miles north in Pilsen, in the 1900 block of West 21st Place, before returning to McKinley Park -- this time at 3410 S. Leavitt St. about a block and a half from the carjacking scene -- where they tried to set fire to a pickup truck they had stolen earlier.
Police said the carjackers got away in a black Honda, and that's when a police chase apparently began, with officers trailing the offenders south on Western Avenue.
According to police dispatch reports, the chase reached speeds of 60 mph.
The chase continued to 31st Street and Kedzie Avenue in Little Village, where police said the offenders crashed into a Toyota, driven by an innocent woman. That woman, 55-year-old Dominga Flores, was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Police arrested the four people from the stolen car after the crash, and recovered two weapons from the vehicle.
Meanwhile, we looked into the Chicago Police Department's official policy on police pursuits. The policy spells out a so-called balancing test.
Officers are to consider whether the need to immediately apprehend outweighs the level of inherent danger created by the pursuit itself. They are to evaluate speeds involved, pedestrian and vehicle traffic in the area, and weather and road conditions.
Chicago Police said late Thursday that the Civilian Office of Police Accountability is investigating because the pursuit and crash involved a death. Police say one reason they were pursuing the group is because they may have been involved in other crimes.