City lawyers want Chicago to pay $650,000 to two women who were severely injured when a vehicle fleeing police ran a red light and slammed into their car in Brighton Park on Jan. 2, 2023. The payout would resolve a lawsuit filed by the victims and now heads to the City Council for a vote. Court papers name the plaintiffs as Maria Navarro Escobedo and Yadira Navarro Escobedo.
How the crash unfolded
According to WTTW News, Officers Tobias Houston and Michael Kocerka spotted a Mercedes‑Benz ML500 near 46th Street and Damen Avenue and began a pursuit. The driver, identified in the lawsuit as Julian Martha Juarez, allegedly drove erratically for nearly a mile before running a red light at 43rd Street and California Avenue and crashing into a 2009 Chevy Malibu driven by Maria Navarro Escobedo.
The collision left both women badly hurt, and the city’s Law Department is now recommending the $650,000 settlement to resolve their claims.
What CPD policy requires
The Chicago Police Department’s pursuit directive, General Order G03‑03‑01, instructs officers to apply a “balancing test,” weighing “the necessity to immediately apprehend the fleeing suspect” against “the level of inherent danger created by a motor vehicle pursuit.” The order also sets strict supervisory and vehicle‑type limits for when pursuits are allowed.
Supervisors are required to monitor chases in real time and terminate any that do not pass those safety standards. The Chicago Police Department lays out the full rules and restrictions.
Officers’ records and legal context
The lawsuit claims Houston and Kocerka pursued from an unmarked vehicle, failed to notify supervisors, and did not end the chase when ordered. If proven, those allegations would violate the CPD directive.
City records and the complaint also show that Officer Houston has been suspended four times for pursuits that violated policy, and that one prior chase tied to his conduct ended in the death of Dominga Flores Gomez. That history has added fuel to broader scrutiny of CPD’s pursuit practices.
Earlier this spring, an appeals court upheld a finding that the city was responsible for a separate $10.5 million verdict in a chase‑related death, and the city has appealed that ruling to the Illinois Supreme Court. At the same time, a tally by WTTW News shows taxpayers have spent at least $103.1 million since January 2025 resolving chase‑related lawsuits.
What the council will decide
The Law Department’s recommendation still needs approval from the City Council after it goes through committee review. The council’s next regular meeting is scheduled for June 17, 2026, according to the Office of the City Clerk.
In recent months, aldermen have openly wrestled with the growing price tag of police pursuits, including a multimillion‑dollar chase settlement approved earlier this spring, making this latest vote as political as it is financial. Those debates were detailed by the Chicago Sun‑Times.
Why it matters
Beyond what Navarro Escobedo and Navarro Escobedo might receive, the recommendation drops the City Council right into the middle of a bigger fight over when officers should chase, who pays when things go wrong, and how far Chicago is willing to go to rein in high‑speed pursuits. Whether aldermen sign off on the deal or force the case to play out in court will help set the tone for how future pursuit lawsuits are handled.
