Dec. 19--Three police officers were injured Sunday morning after a man looking for a way home allegedly stole a cab in Chicago's Gold Coast neighborhood and then struck a police car as he was fleeing, police said.
The incident was reported at 7:37 a.m. outside a Starbucks coffee shop at Dearborn and Division streets when the cabdriver flagged down a police officer to report that his cab had just been taken while he was inside the coffee shop, police Officer John Mirabelli said.
The man then drove the cab east on Division before turning south on State Street and then west on Walton Street, where he went through a red light and struck a squad car carrying two officers with the Mass Transit Unit, Mirabelli said.
The impact of the crash at 28 E. Walton St. caused the squad car to spin around and two officers were injured, Mirabelli said. The injuries weren't life-threatening, he said.
The cab, meanwhile, kept going.
The cabdriver called the taxi company to notify it that the cab had been stolen, and the company was able to locate it on the move through GPS technology in the cab, Mirabelli said. The cabdriver gave that information to police, who put out an alert on police radio, Mirabelli said.
Police were able to find the cab near Schiller Street and State Parkway. Officers activated lights and sirens, but the man refused to stop, Mirabelli said.
Police were finally able to pull over the cab at Goethe and Stone streets, but the man jumped out of the cab and tried to run away, police said.
Mirabelli said the man left the cab in gear and it rolled into a squad car, damaging it.
Police were able to arrest the man in the 1200 block of North Astor Street, police said.
During the foot chase, another officer sustained non-life-threatening injuries, Mirabelli said.
Police said the taxi was not running when it was initially stolen outside the coffee shop, but the keys may have been inside the vehicle.
Police said the man who allegedly stole the vehicle said he was looking for a way to get home.
The man, 30, is in custody and felony and traffic charges are pending, Mirabelli said.
Copyright 2011 - Chicago Tribune
