Arrest made after crash leaves SUV flipped on side in front of Chicago home
CHICAGO (CBS) – A high-speed crash launches an SUV into the air, landing on a parked car Tuesday night in the Back of the Yards neighborhood.
A grey sedan was left smashed in, and another car was damaged in the front, in the 5000 block of South Racine Avenue. The crash also knocked a bus sign down to the ground.
One homeowner came outside to see his car wrecked, and his son had to take him to work.
Police said just before midnight Tuesday night, a 21-year-old man driving a jeep was speeding down 50th Street when he blew through a stop sign - striking an SUV heading south on Racine Avenue. The SUV spun out and flew into the air before landing on top of a parked car outside of the property.
Inside the SUV, a 65-year-old man who police said refused medical help on Scene.
Officers pulled a gun from one of the vehicles.
Neighbors – who didn't want to be on camera – said they're used to cars flying through the intersection of 50th and Racine.
"It's a racetrack," one neighbor said.
But the damage after the crash on Tuesday night was unlike anything they've seen before.
Neighbors said first responders arrived almost immediately after the crash.
One neighbor said he thought the crash was the result of a police chase.
"Well, there was too many cars," he said.
Police said this was not a pursuit, and officers had not tried to stop the vehicle, instead saying officers were headed north on Racine when they witnessed the crash.
The license plate on the car had been reported stolen from another vehicle in the Chicago Lawn neighborhood a couple months ago.
Witnesses also said they heard a helicopter overhead and rustling in the back alley just after the crash.
"I heard some noise, but I didn't figure it was a human being. I figured it was a raccoon. I knew raccoons have been running around them time of night," one man said.
One witness, who asked to be identified only as Derrick, said it wasn't a raccoon, it was a suspect – the driver of the Jeep running behind their homes.
Derrick said he's a car transporter, and one of the vehicles he was supposed to take to Belize was also damaged in the accident, but he's thankful everyone walked away from the crash. Derrick said he needs a police report before he can start his six-day journey to Belize.
The driver of the Jeep was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center for bruising before he was taken into custody. Charges were pending.
