An off-duty Chicago police officer who witnessed a crash during a police chase shot the driver of a stolen SUV after it struck a woman crossing the street late Thursday night, authorities said.
The SUV's drivert sustaine a non-life-threatening wound to his hand or arm, Fraternal Order of Police Spokesman Patrick Camden said.
The crash and subsequent shooting happened about 10 p.m. at the intersection of 37th Street and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, two blocks south and three blocks east of the police department headquarters, in the city’s Bronzeville neighborhood, police said.
A gray SUV was fleeing Wentworth District police northbound on King Drive when it made a left turn through a red light trying to head west on 37th Street, hit a light pole, hit a female pedestrian, and then hit a concrete wall that surrounds the massive three-story brick home on the corner, authorities said.
An off-duty officer, on his way home from work with his girlfriend and his dinner, was stopped at the light facing south and saw the chase coming north up King Drive. His girlfriend was getting out of the passenger side about this time, Camden and police said.
As the off-duty officer approached the stolen SUV, its driver tried to reverse back toward the officer, who fired twice, fearing that the SUV would hit his girlfriend. The SUV hit the officer’s black Yukon, Camden said, and its driver put the SUV into gear and tried to escape again.
The officer fired two more times, hitting the man in the hand, who gave up and was taken to Mercy Hospital and Medical Center.
The female pedestrian’s age wasn’t available, and she was taken to the University of Chicago Hospitals. The officer’s girlfriend, whose age wasn’t available, was also taken to Mercy Hospital and Medical Center.
Police blocked King Drive in both directions between the 3500 block and 39th Street, and 37th Street was also blocked. The CTA rerouted buses in the area.
pnickeas@tribune.com
Twitter: @peternickeas
Male shot by police on South Side
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