Four killed in 2-car crash on South Side
Four people were killed and another person was injured Sunday evening when an SUV fleeing a patrol officer ran a stop sign and collided with a minivan, authorities said.
The crash occurred around seven p.m. at South Flores and Lorita streets on the South Side, shutting Flores for several hours and attracting about one hundred fifty onlookers.
All four who died were in the green Dodge Caravan.
The driver of the minivan and her front-seat passenger died at the scene, authorities said.
A 6-month-old lady and an 11-year-old woman were pronounced dead after being airlifted to University Hospital. The baby was restrained decently in her car seat. The 11-year-old was also in the back seat of the minivan when it crashed, police Sgt. Chris Benavides said.
He said police believe that the minivan’s occupants might be related, but because identification was tentative, he couldn’t confirm it.
No names were released late Sunday.
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The female driver of the SUV, who was in her late 30s and refused to stop for police, suffered a cracked ankle, Benavides said. The influence of the collision sent her SUV twisting through the air, crashing into a TV repair shop, where it landed upside down.
The patrol officer began pursuing the SUV when it ran a crimson light on Roosevelt Avenue and Military Drive and drove past the officer at a high speed, Benavides said.
The officer turned on his lights, and the SUV pulled over on Roosevelt near Lorita. But because Roosevelt is such a busy street, the officer pulled up beside the woman and motioned for her to turn onto Lorita, Benavides said.
But instead of stopping on Lorita, the woman sped off, Benavides said, and drove west on Lorita, again at a high speed.
The officer kept his lights on and began following her. He told investigators the SUV was still in view but several blocks away when it collided with the minivan, which was traveling south on South Flores, Benavides said. After being hit, the van crashed into a utility pole.
After the wreck, witnesses said they heard the SUV’s driver yelling for help. “It was a big crash,” said Melissa Navarro, Nineteen, who lives near the TV repair shop. “I could see the driver laying on the floor yelling, ‘Help! Help!’”
The SUV’s driver had warrants issued for her arrest on charges of theft, failure to produce decent identification and driving without a license, as well as several traffic citations, Benavides said.
The crash is being classified as a “pursuit” because the officer had his lights on and was preparing to call dispatchers to alert them of the fleeing SUV at the time of the crash, Benavides said.
The wreck was one of two major traffic accidents involving children Sunday night.
A man was killed and eight people, including six children, were hospitalized after a one-vehicle rollover on the far South Side around 8:30 p.m.
The children, ages three to 6, were taken to area hospitals. Their conditions were not known.