Man Charged After Near West Side Police Chase, Crash; 4 Taken To Hospital
CHICAGO (STMW) -- A Cook County judge ordered a suburban man held on $50,000 bail Sunday, after he allegedly led Chicago police on a car chase that ended in a crash on the Near West Side, authorities said.
Kristian Hoodenbach, 23, of west suburban Addison, did not appear injured when he appeared before Judge Donald Panarese. But four people — including two children — suffered minor injuries and ended up going to the hospital following the late Saturday collision, authorities said.
The chain of events was set in motion about 11:25 p.m. Saturday, when police say they watched Hoodenbach drive a 2011 Chevrolet truck through an alley, using it as a through-street, near the 1200 block of South Homan.
Officers curbed his vehicle and approached, prosecutors alleged in court. When police saw what appeared to be the butt of a handgun sticking out from under Hoodenbach's leg, an officer tried to open the truck door, according to a Chicago Police report.
Instead of complying with officers, Hoodenbach sped off, according to the report.
Officers chased Hoodenbach as he blew through two traffic lights near South Kedzie and West Roosevelt, according to the report.
The officers lost site of Hoodenbach's truck, according to the report, but another police unit then reported an accident in the 2400 block of West Roosevelt involving the truck.
A 28-year-old woman and a 2-year-old girl were in the vehicle that was hit, according to Fire Media Affairs. They were taken to Stroger Hospital with minor injuries, authorities said.
Police said another adult and child were also taken to the hospital, but all patients were in good condition. The two children were taken to the hospital for observation purposes, police said.
Police recovered a pellet gun from Hoodenbach's vehicle, according to the police report.
Hoodenbach faces one felony count of aggravated fleeing, one municipal count of having a replica of a firearm — the pellet gun — and three traffic citations for disobeying two red lights and using an alley as a through street, according to court records.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2014. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)