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CHICAGO — A man was charged with murder in the Wednesday night car chase and crash that killed a 37-year-old woman in Lakeview when her SUV was hit by a pursuing Chicago Police vehicle , police said.
Marcel Oliver is accused of being the man who led police on a chase throughout the city, a chase that included multiple crashes and Oliver stealing an SUV from a gas station after one crash, police said.
Oliver, of the 300 block of West 106th Place, is charged with first degree murder, vehicular hijacking, aggravated fleeing and more.
The chase left 37-year-old Guadalupe Francisco-Martinez dead. Her Ford Explorer was hit by a pursuing police car near the end of the crash, police said.
In the wake of the deadly chase, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said she’s “very concerned” about Chicago Police chases and wants policy changes.
Lightfoot said pursuits are “one of the most deadly” exercises police officers engage in and should be done in “very limited circumstances” and under the direction of supervisors.
Officers saw the man, 22, driving a Jeep and attempted to stop him near the 9400 block of South Union Avenue because they thought the car was connected to “numerous crimes committed in neighboring suburbs,” a Chicago Police spokesman said, citing preliminary information.
An Illinois State Police spokeswoman said the Jeep was wanted in at least one homicide.
The driver took off and police chased him. The 22-year-old went to Irving Park Road and Keystone Avenue, where he was involved in a car crash, police said.
The man got out of the car and ran to a gas station in the 3900 block of West Irving Park Road, where he stole an SUV that had been left running with its keys in the ignition, police said. He drove east on Irving Park Road as police continued to chase him.
While chasing the man, a police car crashed into someone driving a Ford Explorer near the 1600 block of West Irving Park Road, police said. A woman, 37, in the Explorer was taken to Illinois Masonic Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
The police car involved in the crash was marked and had its emergency equipment on, police said.
Credit: ProvidedThe officers spun out due to the crash and hit a Hummer stopped at a red light, police said. Three people in the car — a man, 62, and two women, 29 and 44 — were taken to Northwestern Hospital in fair condition for observation.
Two police officers were taken to hospitals in fair condition.
The 22-year-old driver continued to drive away, but he crashed into a pole. He got out of his car and tried to run away but was arrested 10:13 p.m. Wednesday in the 800 block of West Pershing Road, police said.
