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Man in critical condition after jumping on hood of car fleeing from crash

A 19-year-old Lake County man is in critical condition after he jumped on the hood of a car that was fleeing the scene of a crash early Monday morning, then later was thrown from the vehicle and run over, authorities said.

The crash launched a nearly 40-mile police pursuit from Beach Park in northern Lake County to Rosemont, where the fleeing car was forced to stop after law enforcement punctured its tires, Lake County sheriff's police said.

The events began about 1:30 a.m. Monday when a sheriff's deputy on patrol on the 37800 block of North Sheridan Road in Beach Park saw two vehicles speeding away from a business, according to the sheriff's office.

Atop the hood of one of the vehicles, a 2004 Toyota Camry, was a man later determined to be a 19-year-old Waukegan resident. He was waving at the deputy for assistance, authorities said.

The deputy attempted to stop the Toyota, but the driver fled, sheriff's police said.

As the pursuit continued, the driver of the second vehicle passed the deputy and pulled alongside the Toyota. The driver of the Toyota swerved and abruptly stopped, causing the Waukegan man to fall off the hood, according to sheriff's police. The driver, a 17-year-old girl from Winthrop Harbor, then ran the victim over before again fleeing, authorities said.

The deputy stopped to help the injured man, who was taken to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville with life-threatening injuries, officials said.

In the meantime, the driver of the second vehicle followed the Toyota and called in updated locations to sheriff's telecommunicators. A deputy located the Toyota traveling south on Interstate 94 and pursued, soon to be joined by a sheriff's sergeant and Illinois State Police troopers.

The chase came to an end near Rosemont, after deputies deployed Stop Sticks to deflate the tires on the Toyota.

The driver and two passengers were arrested and taken to the Lake County sheriff's office, where they remained Monday morning. Charges are pending, and the driver is expected to be referred to juvenile court, sheriff's police said.

A preliminary investigation shows the driver of the Toyota was involved in a minor crash in the business where the chase began, according to the sheriff's office. The injured Waukegan man attempted to intervene after the crash and had to jump on the hood of the car to avoid being struck as it sped away, sheriff's police said. He was atop the hood for about a minute before being thrown, authorities said.

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