Man Hurtles 100 MPH Toward Elmhurst's Downtown: Cops

BENSENVILLE, IL – An Oak Park man caught a Bensenville police officer's attention when he sped by the officer late Wednesday morning on Route 83, police said.

Authorities said the man then ran the red light at Route 83 and Foster Avenue and made a U-turn to go south on Route 83. The officer activated his emergency lights and sirens and pursued the driver of the Honda Civic, later identified as 21-year-old Rashaad Simpson, according to a news release from DuPage County prosecutors.

Simpson weaved in and out of traffic and, at one point, drove on the shoulder of the road while reaching speeds of 120 mph. He continued to drive 100 mph before entering downtown Elmhurst, where he ran stop signs and went the wrong way on one-way streets, police said.

Officers then ended the pursuit because of safety concerns. Shortly after, Simpson was found on North Avenue and Route 83, which is where a Department of Homeland Security helicopter began following Simpson, according to the news release.

Simpson drove on interstates 290, 355 and 390, where he exited at Thorndale Avenue to northbound Route 83. Simpson then parked the Honda in front of a business on North Busse Road in Elk Grove Village, police said. Bensenville officers then arrested him.

Simpson was charged with two felony counts of aggravated fleeing and eluding officers and multiple misdemeanor and petty traffic offenses.

DuPage County Judge Joshua Dieden granted prosecutors' request to keep Simpson in jail until his trial.