Suspect in Domestic Killing Dies of Self-Inflicted Gunshot Wound on Interstate: Cops

A man believed to have killed the husband of his ex-wife in a violent attack led Bridgeview police and other nearby police departments on a chase on I-57 Thursday afternoon.

The chase ended when the suspect hopped onto I-57 heading southbound and crashed near mile marker 329 near Peotone. The suspect was found dead inside his vehicle of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to Bridgeview Police.

The suspect, identified as Sergio Ramirez-Abeja, 43, of the 6000 block of South 76th Avenue, Summit. had a valid conceal-carry permit for his weapon, which was a 9mm Beretta.

Police said Ramirez-Abeja went to the 7400 block of Beloit Avenue, Bridgeview, where he shot and killed his ex-wife’s husband, 40-year-old Santiago Garcia-Mendoza, who resided there.

Ramirez-Abeja reportedly was the biological father of a teenage girl also living at the address.

Several witnesses identified the suspect and the vehicle. Bridgeview Police Chief Walter Klimek said that several witnesses identified Ramirez-Abeja as the shooter.

Klimek said Bridgeview officers immediately spotted Ramirez-Abeja driving on Harlem when the pursuit began. Several neighboring police departments joined in the chase, which lasted for about an hour.

The suspect’s vehicle was originally headed southbound on I-57, but he made a U-Turn through emergency barrier near Peotone on I-57 and headed northbound when the police forced him off the road.

“Police chasing the suspect struck the back of his car with their police vehicle causing him to swerve off the road onto the grass,” Bridgeview Police Chief Walter Klimek said in a news release. “The suspect’s car came to a full stop and as Bridgeview Police officers approached the vehicle, they heard a single gunshot.”

Klimek said the suspect died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head using the 9mm Beretta.