A Burbank man led Chicago officers on a miles-long chase after they heard shots in the South Side's Englewood neighborhood and began pursuing a van they saw fleeing the area, police said.
Mohammed Ramadan, 26, of the southwest suburb, faces several felony charges and traffic citations in the chase, which wound from near 65th and Halsted Streets, down the Dan Ryan Expressway and finally to 118th Street and Avenue O, said Chicago Police News Affairs Officer Michael Fitzpatrick.
Ramadan, of the 8600 block of South Oak Park Avenue, was ordered held on $250,000 bond in a hearing today before Cook County Criminal Court Judge Maria Kuriakos Ciesil, said Cook County state's attorney spokesman Andy Conklin.
Police were patrolling the area of 65th and Halsted when they heard shots fired about 11:30 p.m. Friday, Fitzpatrick said. The officers saw a white van in the area that quickly began fleeing the area, Conklin said.
"Many officers" joined the chase in their police vehicles, Conklin said.
The van got on the Dan Ryan at 63rd and headed south, according to Illinois State Police, who were notified of the chase but did not take part in it.
Chicago police caught up with the van near 80th Steet and Cottage Grove Avenue, where they tried to stop it. A passenger in the van jumped out and tried to flee the scene, Fitzpatrick said. The van went up on the sidewalk and hit at least one police car there, he said.
At one point during the chase, the van was driving parallel to a police car and swerved, hitting it on its side, Conklin said. At another point, the driver lost control and hit a squad car, injuring an officer's ankle in the process, Conklin said.
Police continued their pursuit until they were able to stop the van near 118th and Avenue O, where the driver of the van lost control again and hit another squad car, Conklin said. There, Ramadan got out of the van, police said. An officer fired shots at Ramadan, but no one was hit, and Ramadan was taken into custody, Fitzpatrick said.
Ramadan faces several felony charges, including four counts of aggravated fleeing of police; three counts of aggravated battery to a police officer; and three counts of criminal damage to goverment property, Fitzpatrick said.
Ramadan also faces several misdemeanor charges and traffic citations, including aggravated assault of a police officer; driving on a suspended license; criminal damage to property; going the wrong way on one way street; and disobeying a red stop signal, Fitzpatrick said.
Ramadan's next court date is Dec. 18, in Branch 48 of Cook County Criminal Court, Conklin said.
