Man leads police on high-speed police chase, with child inside car, from Indiana to Chicago: VIDEO
4-year-old child was inside speeding car, police said
CHICAGO (WLS) -- There was a high-speed police chase during the evening rush hour from Northwest Indiana to Chicago's South Side Tuesday.
Relatives said the driver was in the car with his daughter when he was stopped by police in Hammond, Indiana, and claims he only took off out of fear.
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Exclusive video shows when Chopper 7 began tracking a police pursuit on the Bishop Ford Freeway with a 4-year-old girl, authorities say, in the speeding car.
The chase continued onto the inbound side of the Dan Ryan.
The black BMW was seen weaving in and out of traffic, during the evening rush hour, before getting off at 59th and speeding through several streets and even a yard.
The driver's family told ABC7 that the child is the man's daughter, and his girlfriend says she was on the phone with him during the chase.
"He start seeing just steady build up and build up. I asked him, 'Why?' He said he don't know why they on him. He didn't know at all," she said.
Tire marks lead to the crash site where the 26-year-old man, eventually, bailed out of the car, left his daughter behind near 53rd and Morgan, steps away from his relatives' home.
He was soon caught and Tased by officers. ABC7 saw him being treated by paramedics on scene before being taken into custody.
SEE ALSO: Video shows moment baby ejected from van during a police chase; father arrested
Lake County, Indiana deputies said this all began just after 5 p.m., when Highland police tried to stop the car in Hammond, Indiana as part of a joint law enforcement operation involving multiple agencies.
Deputies would not confirm the reason behind the traffic stop, saying it is under investigation.
The suspect's aunt, Sheena, told ABC7, the deputies, "pulled him over and said that his car was stolen because of his license plates. Now, he has dealer's plates because he has his dealer's license."
And she claims he took off because "He got nervous, because it was more than one cop car."
But, in a statement to ABC7, the Lake County, Indiana sheriff said, in part, "There was no indication of a stolen plate... The subject could have easily pulled over, but instead fled at a high rate of speed, endangering the 4-year-old passenger and others."
The driver is facing multiple charges, including felony fleeing, reckless endangerment of a child and marijuana possession. He is now at a correctional facility in Chicago, where he will await extradition to Indiana, police said.
ABC7 is told that the 4-year-old is safely with family.
