POLICE CAPTURE 2 AFTER CARJACKING
4 A north suburban man playing with his granddaughter in a North Side park Monday morning got a front- row seat as police chased and apprehended a suspected carjacker after a chase that ended with a crash. Two suspects were ultimately arrested.
Two offenders approached someone in a car around 9: 52 a. m. in the 7700 block of North Hermitage Avenue, demanded the vehicle, and drove away, Chicago Police said. Nearby detectives spotted the car in traffic, which led to a police chase that ended when the vehicle crashed into a pole at Irving Park Road and North Marine Drive, at the border between Lake View and Uptown. The car, with “at least a dozen squad cars in pursuit,”
crashed near the ramp from Irving Park, according to a witness.
Bruce Topp, 59, of Lake Villa, whose daughter lives in a building nearby, was playing with his 5- year- old granddaughter in Morrie Mages Playground about 10: 15 a. m. when the “bad guy” ran through with police in pursuit.
“My granddaughter was swinging, and he ran through the park,” Topp said.
Police then ran in from the other side of the park, caught him, and “told him to get on the ground,” he said. The officer had his gun out, pointed at the offender.
“He didn’t struggle. He laid on the ground and put his arms out. There were lots and lots of police and they really did a great job,” Topp said.
The other suspect was also apprehended. Charges against the carjackers are pending, police said. — Ashlee Rezin, Jeff Mayes,
Daniel Brown