5 hurt including driver of stolen car in Chicago Northwest Side high-speed crash
CHICAGO (CBS) — At least five people were hospitalized, including the driver of a stolen car following a crash on the city's Northwest Side overnight.
The crash happened just after 10:30 p.m. Friday in the 7600 block of West Touhy Avenue in the Edison Park neighborhood.
Chicago police said their helicopter was monitoring the stolen car that crashed into a cleaners on the corner.
They say a driver with three passengers inside a stolen car was going northbound on Touhy Avenue at a high speed when they lost control and struck another car with a female driver.
The stolen car driver, a 21-year-old man, suffered a leg and spine injury and was taken to Lutheran Hospital in critical condition.
Three women and one other man were also taken to the hospital with minor injuries. Their ages were not released.
One man who was standing near the crash site says his car was one of the ones hit.
"Crashed into my car on Milwaukee and Elston. He's driving like a maniac, turned off his lights, and crashes into these innocent people," Edward Thomas said.
The owner of the cleaners that was struck says he's been at the location for 20 years and was in the process of selling the building. A gym owner from around the corner where the crash happened also said that speed had been an issue, and speed cameras were placed in the area following a fatal accident a few years ago.
Police say they found a handgun at the scene of the crash.
Multiple traffic citations and charges are pending this morning.
