2 in custody after police chase on Eisenhower Expressway ends in West Side crash

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Two people are in custody after a police chase ended with a crash on the Eisenhower Expressway on the West Side Monday morning.

Illinois State Police said the chase lasted about 20 minutes and reached speeds well over 100 miles per hour.

Police said the incident started in in the 600-block of Victoria Drive Palatine where suspects were seen inside a parked car. When the car's owner confronted them, gunshots were fired at the owner, police said.

The victim provided to police a description of a black Mercedes and second vehicle used by the suspects to flee the scene. Police then determined that the Mercedes has just been reported stolen in Deer Park.

"Heard loud screaming, heard really fast cars which is not normal for our neighborhood," said witnesses Barbara Johnson. "Everything happened so fast it was dark out, but I know I heard three gun shots."

Several neighbors reported having their cars rifled through. Terence Butler said the door to his Mercedes was left open but nothing was taken.

"It did seem strange to me that they wouldn't take anything, so obviously it wasn't theft inside the vehicle that they were looking for, maybe just easily trying to steal some vehicles or something like that," Butler said.

Des Plaines police located the Mercedes and attempted to stop it, but the Mercedes fled and the chase was terminated.

At around 2 a.m., state police chased the Mercedes on I-90, then on I-290 when it attempted to make a stop in Austin, but then continued onto I-294 southbound to Ogden Avenue.

The Mercedes drove from Route 83 to I-88 when the suspects returned to the Eisenhower and then crashed into two vehicles near the ramp to Racine Avenue at about 2:20 a.m. police said.

The driver of a Toyota Camry said he was on his way home at the time of the crash.

"I was going home. I was driving and next thing you know I just get hit and I'm like, I didn't know what to do after that. Next thing I know, I blacked out and I'm on the side of the road," said Philip Cooper, who was not injured.

The SUV also hit an IDOT truck and fortunately the worker was not injured.

A stretch of the inbound Eisenhower was closed for hours as a result and has since reopened.

Weapons were recovered from the scene. Illinois State Police said they are handing the suspects and the case over to police in Palatine.