Thwarted carjacking leads to chase, ends in crash on Eisenhower Expressway

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A car-jacking on the city's West Side led to a high-speed chase on the Eisenhower Expressway Saturday evening and ended with a crash.

The chase did not involve police and ended within minutes, just a few miles from where it started.

Police are still searching for the man who attempted to steal a Chevy near West Flournoy Street and South California Avenue.

The Chevy's owner, who declined to be identified, jumped into a friend's car and they chased the car down the Eisenhower until it crashed into a Mazda sedan near Ashland.

The Mazda was owned by Tom Cowan, of Naperville, who were in Chicago visiting their daughter.

The impact of the crash sent the Mazda spinning in circles, while going about the speed limit on the expressway.

"It was such a blur. We absolutely saw nothing. We were spinning around and watching cars coming at us 60 miles an hour, backwards. It was scary," Cowan said.

Cowan said when his car stopped spinning he saw the suspect in the stolen car get out and run, while the owner of the Chevy running after him.

"One of the fellas was chasing him and said he stopped because he turned around and had a gun so he decided to stop chasing him." Cowan said.

After giving up the chase the Chevy owner called police.

And instead of visiting their daughter, they had to wait for a tow and a ride home.

"I think we were extremely fortunate," Cowan said. "I honestly thought our car, when we over the embankment, was going to flip over, but fortunately we landed safely."