1 Killed, 8 Hurt In Crash Following Police Chase
CHICAGO (STMW) -- A police chase stemming from a West Side shooting ended in a crash late Saturday that killed one woman and injured several other people.
The shooting happened about 11:30 p.m. in the 200 block of South Springfield Avenue and left a 38-year-old man with a gunshot wound to the leg, police News Affairs Officer Ronald Gaines said.
Police later spotted a vehicle that matched the description of a vehicle connected to the shooting and tried to pull the driver over, but the motorist took off, Gaines said.
The police chase continued to Pulaski Road and Chicago Avenue, where the suspect's vehicle crashed into a CTA bus and two other vehicles, Gaines said.
A total of nine people were taken to area hospitals from the crash, four of whom were initially in serious-to-critical condition, fire officials said. The victims were taken to the following hospitals: West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Lawn, Saints Mary and Elizabeth Medical Center, Norwegian American Hospital and Mount Sinai Hospital, police said.
One of the people hospitalized -- identified as 35-year-old Marisol Mercado -- was pronounced dead at Mount Sinai Hospital at 12:59 a.m. Sunday, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's office. An autopsy Sunday found she died of multiple injuries from the crash and her death was ruled an accident.
Two other people were hospitalized in fair-to-serious condition and three people were in good condition, fire officials said.
The suspect, a 33-year-old man, was hospitalized in an unknown condition at John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County, police said.
No police vehicles were involved in the crash, and no officers were hurt, Gaines said. The driver of the CTA bus was also uninjured.
Area North detectives are investigating.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2013. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
