Man steals SUV with 9-year-old boy inside, authorities say

PLEASANT PRAIRIE, Wis. (WLS) -- A man was charged after he hijacked a vehicle with a nine-year-old boy inside in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, and led Lake County sheriff's deputies on a chase down I-94, authorities said.

Pleasant Prairie police called the Lake County Sheriff's Office around 2:10 a.m. Thursday to report a carjacking at a gas station in the 7500-block of 118th Avenue. Police said the boy was inside the 2016 Hyundai Santa Fe when the suspect stole the SUV.

About ten minutes after receiving the call, sheriff's deputies spotted the Hyundai on I-94 near Route 22 in Lincolnshire, Illinois. They tried to pull over the driver, but he fled. The deputies chased the suspect to I-294 near Touhy Avenue in Des Plaines, Ill., where he eventually stopped and was taken into custody.

The boy was found unharmed inside the SUV and was reunited with his family.

The suspect was identified as Michael E. Newhouse, 58, of the 2900-block of 73rd Street in Kenosha, Wis.

He was charged with two counts of felony aggravated fleeing and eluding and one count of felony aggravated reckless driving. He was also charged with endangering the life of a child, a misdemeanor, and cited for several traffic violations. Additional charges are possible, including charges in Wisconsin.

Newhouse is being held at Lake County Jail on $250,000 bail. He is due back in court on June 29.