Sheriff: Driver of stolen car killed fleeing from police, 8 others injured
A Wisconsin man driving a stolen vehicle was killed Saturday and eight others, including four children, were injured when he crashed while fleeing police in northern Lake County, authorities said Sunday.
Authorities said the 32-year-old Salem, Wisconsin man was spotted Saturday afternoon driving a stolen Lexus GS400 in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin. When police attempted to stop him, he drove off, starting a high-speed chase that crossed into Illinois, according to the Lake County sheriff’s office.
Police successfully used a tire-deflating device in the area of Kilbourne and Russell roads in Newport Township, but the Wisconsin man continued driving recklessly and excessively fast, leading officers to discontinue the chase, authorities said.
At about 4:30 p.m., the driver of the Lexus went through a red light at Kilbourne Road and Route 173 and collided in the intersection with a GMC Yukon, according to the sheriff’s office.
The driver of the Lexus was killed in the crash and a 51-year-old Waukegan resident sitting in the front seat of the Yukon suffered critical injuries and was transported to an area hospital, authorities said.
The driver of the GMC, a 30-year-old Waukegan man, and his passengers — a 20-year-old Waukegan woman, a 28-year-old Waukegan man, a 15-year-old Waukegan boy, a 15-year-old Montgomery girl, an 11-year-old Waukegan girl and an 8-year-old Waukegan girl — all sustained nonlife-threatening injuries, officials said.
The Lexus’ driver, whose name is being withheld pending family notification, had a revoked driver’s license, an arrest warrant out of Lake County for possessing methamphetamine, and was the suspect in several area burglaries, according to the sheriff’s office.
The crash remains under investigation by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office Technical Crash Investigations Team.