A 17-year-old driver from Gilberts, who allegedly smashed into two squad cars to escape Naperville police officers, has been charged with fleeing at speeds as high as 115 mph before being stopped in DeKalb County, officials said.
The teen, who is a minor, was being held in the DuPage County Juvenile Detention Center Tuesday after being charged with one count of felony aggravated fleeing and eluding and two counts of felony criminal damage to government supported property in conjunction with the high-speed chase that started about 1:10 a.m. Saturday.
Naperville police officers attempting to pull him over boxed in his car with two squad cars but the teen was able to free his vehicle by repeatedly driving into the squads until he pushed one of them out of the way, a report released by the Naperville Police Department and DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office said.
As he fled, he drove into a Naperville city electric box and then took off on a 115-mph chase that ended in DeKalb County.
No information on why Naperville police were trying to pull over the teen, where the initial inicident occurred or how they eventually stopped him was provided.
“Last year, DuPage County saw a significant increase in the numbers of people who attempted to flee from police instead of pulling over,” State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said in a statement. “With the weather getting nicer and people out traveling more, law enforcement in DuPage County is determined to not have a repeat of the epidemic of fleeing and eluding we saw last year.
“Make no mistake, we will use every tool at our disposal, including helicopters, drones and the assistance of neighboring jurisdictions to arrest and charge anyone who attempts to flee from police. This behavior unnecessarily puts the officers involved and thousands of innocent motorists at great risk and will simply not be tolerated.”
