Prisoner Escapes During Highway Transport Near Northbrook: Police

NORTHBROOK, IL — A prisoner is in custody after escaping from police during a highway transport Saturday afternoon near Northbrook. According to police, the male prisoner was being taken to Lake County Jail when he escaped on Interstate 294.

Before his apprehension, the prisoner reportedly committed two counts of vehicular carjacking while on the run from police.

At around 2:38 p.m., two Park Ridge police officers were taking the male prisoner to the Lake County Jail on a warrant out of Lake County. While enroute to the jail, police noticed the prisoner acting erratically in the backseat, according to a news release from the Park Ridge Police Department. Police said the prisoner, who had his handcuffs behind him, had slipped out of them in front of himself.

The officers then pulled the squad car over on the shoulder of the northbound lane of I-294 at mile marker 52 (Northbrook). They then called dispatch and told them their location, before requesting assistance from Illinois State Police.

While attempting to re-secure the prisoner, while also deescalating his behavior, he was able to break free. The Park Ridge officers then used a Taser on the prisoner, but it was ineffective. He soon thereafter ran across the northbound lanes of traffic, jumped over a concrete barrier, and continued running in the southbound lanes.

The prisoner then approached a maroon-colored Ford van that was stopped in the southbound lanes, and subsequently forced the driver out of the vehicle physically. With Park Ridge police in pursuit, the prisoner drove off in the Ford.

Later at around 3:19 p.m., according to the news release, the prisoner was in the area of Lake Cook Road and Caribou Crossing in Northbrook when he exited the Ford van, before proceeding to commit a second act of vehicular carjacking to a white Chevrolet Camaro. The prisoner forced the car owner out of the Camaro before speeding off.

Police were able to locate the Camaro in the area of I-94 in Kenosha County, Wisconsin, through the vehicle's OnStar locator service. Wisconsin State Police located the car, stopped it and apprehended the prisoner. He was taken into custody and is being held for further investigation.