Three people were killed and a fourth was critically injured early Sunday after a car fleeing police flew off a bridge and smashed into a freight train box car on Chicago’s Southwest Side, turning a late-night pursuit into a deadly scene near South Cicero Avenue.
How the Crash Unfolded
According to Chicago police, it started with a call that someone in a car had pointed a gun at another person. Officers attempted a traffic stop at about 2:16 a.m., but the driver refused to pull over and the initial pursuit was called off.
A short time later, Illinois State Police spotted a vehicle matching that description in the 5500 block of South Cicero Avenue. Troopers briefly stopped the car, but the driver hit the gas again and a chase continued south on Cicero. The vehicle eventually left the roadway in the 6900 block of South Cicero, went off the side of a bridge, and slammed into a box car on a freight train below, according to NBC Chicago.
Victims and Investigation
Two men and a woman were pronounced dead at the scene. A fourth person in the car, a woman, was taken to Christ Hospital in critical condition, the Chicago Police Department said.
Authorities have not yet released the victims’ names, and it remains unclear whether anyone connected to the incident will face charges. The CPD Investigative Response Team and Illinois State Police are handling the investigation, according to Fox 32 Chicago.
Police Policy and Public-Safety Questions
The deadly crash lands squarely in the middle of an ongoing debate over when officers should chase and when they should stand down. The Chicago Police Department’s pursuit directive, General Order G03-03-01, instructs officers to constantly weigh the need to catch fleeing suspects against the risk to the public. It also makes clear that officers will not be disciplined for choosing to end a pursuit, according to the Chicago Police Department.
The policy requires supervisors to oversee pursuits and mandates detailed reports whenever someone tries to elude police. As investigators piece together what happened on that bridge and on the tracks below, those rules and how they were applied are almost certain to be scrutinized alongside the wreckage.
