Charges Filed After Chase Through St. Charles, Crash Into Police Car

ST. CHARLES, IL — A 32-year-old Elgin man faces charges for allegations he fled authorities Friday morning and caused a crash that sent a car careening into a patrol car.

Police took Quenelle M. Franklin, of the 1600 block of Mark Avenue, into custody at about 9:55 a.m. at the Shell gas station in the 300 block of West Main Street. Franklin had locked himself in a bathroom in the gas station but turned himself over to police when they located him, according to a news release from the St. Charles Police Department.

The arrest came following an incident that was first reported at about 6:30 a.m. Friday when a Kane County Sheriff's Office lieutenant attempted to pull over a silver Ford Escape in the area of Randall and Crane roads in St. Charles. Police say the lieutenant observed traffic violations and was in an unmarked squad car with the car's police lights and sirens on, according to the sheriff's office news release.

But the car did not stop and continued south on Randall Road before turning east on Dean Street, authorities said. The vehicle then continued east on Dean Street before losing control and striking two parked and unoccupied cars on the east side of North 9th Street.

The collision pushed one of the parked cars, a Chevy Aveo, into the northbound lanes of traffic and into the path of the patrol car driven by the Kane County Sheriff's Office lieutenant, authorities said. The patrol car collided with the Chevy, causing extensive damage to the patrol car.

No one was injured in the incident, and Franklin, who was later identified as the driver of the Ford Escape, fled on foot, police said. Authorities established a perimeter and utilized K9 police dogs and a local drone team to try and track him down.

The K-9 unit helped to track him to the Shell gas station bathroom, police said.

Franklin now faces charges of aggravated fleeing and eluding-21 m ph over the posted limit, aggravated fleeing and eluding - over $300 in property damage, aggravated fleeing and eluding - disobeyed two or more traffic control devices, speeding 35 mph or more over the posted limit, disobeyed a traffic control signal, failure to signal when turning, failure to signal when changing lanes and improper lane usage.

Quinelle remains behind bars on a $75,000 bail. He is next expected in court on Feb. 1.