Man Killed, Woman Injured In Crash After Police Chase Prompted By Domestic Battery Call At Gas Station In Calumet Heights
CHICAGO (CBS)-- A man is dead and a woman is in the hospital after a police chase ended with a crash overnight in the Calumet Heights neighborhood. Officers said it all started after a report of a man beating a woman.
Police said the incident began with a report of a domestic disturbance and ended with cars crumpled after a deadly crash at 91st and South Crandon Avenue in Calumet Heights.
Police said call that came in about a 40-year-old man beating up a 28-year-old woman at the Citgo gas station on the corner of 92nd and South Stony Island Avenue a little before 2 a.m.
CBS 2 spoke exclusively to the person who called 911 about the man beating the woman.
"He treated her so bad," he said. "He was so intoxicated; like, he was out of control of himself."
The worker, who asked that hid name not be used, was behind the counter when the man walked in and asked for a condom. He said he sold it to him, and the man went back to his car.
"After a few minutes, I heard someone screaming inside the car," he said.
That's when the store clerk called police.
"I was on the phone, and she was crying; screaming," he said.
The woman was able to get out of the car and come into the store.
"She was saying, 'Leave me alone," and he was using the b-word. 'Hey, get back to the car, b,'" the worker said.
The Citgo employee called 911 a second time.
When police arrived, they said a woman was trying to jump out of a Dodge Charger while it was moving.
She was screaming and waving for help as the man behind the wheel put his foot on the gas and sped away.
Officers tried to follow, but soon lost sight of the car.
Moments later, that same car had crashed into three parked cars; two other Dodge Chargers and a Nissan SUV. The cars were left mangled and one car even flipped over.
The driver was taken to University of Chicago hospital, where he later died. The woman in the passenger's seat was also taken to the hospital, where her condition was stabilized.
It's a sad reality Citgo clerk said he'll have a hard time living with.
"I believe that if he would've gotten arrested, that would be better for him, and better for the girl, too," he said.