Man thrown off hood, run over by teen girl driver during Lake County police chase

WAUKEGAN, Illinois — An Illinois man who leaped onto the hood of a car suffered life-threatening injuries when he was thrown off and run over during a police chase early Monday.

The Lake County Sheriff's Office said in a news release that a deputy spotted two vehicles leaving a Beach Park business about 1:30 a.m. A 19-year-old man from Waukegan was clinging to the hood of one of the vehicles and waved at the deputy for help.

The vehicle's driver decided to flee and, during the pursuit, the second vehicle pulled alongside, causing the driver to swerve and stop abruptly. The man on the hood fell off and the driver then ran him over before taking off again, according to the sheriff's office.

The pursuing deputy stayed at the scene and helped the man, who was transported to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville with injuries the sheriff's office described as critical and life-threatening.

The second vehicle continued to chase the other car and called in updated locations to sheriff's dispatchers. Deputies and state troopers finally stopped the driver using spike strips on Interstate 94 near Rosemount. The driver, a 17-year-old girl from Winthrop Harbor, and two passengers were taken into custody, the sheriff's office said.

A preliminary investigation showed the girl was involved in a minor traffic crash at the business in Beach Park. The 19-year-old man tried to intervene after the crash and was forced to jump onto the hood to avoid being hit by the girl's car, the sheriff's office said.

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