CHICAGO (CBS) — Investigators have released video footage showing a crash that killed one person and injured two others during a police chase last month on the South Side.
The crash happened shortly before 2 a.m. on Oct. 1 at the intersection of 35th Street and Ashland Avenue in the McKinley Park neighborhood.
A video released by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability shows a 2025 Kia Soul waiting at a stoplight in the southbound lanes of Ashland before turning left onto 35th Street when the light changed to a green left turn signal. A speeding 2007 Lexus Es350 sedan was traveling north on Ashland, ran a red light and struck the Kia before the Lexus crashed into a nearby building, which partially collapsed.
Other videos released by COPA show at least three Chicago police cars chasing the Lexus before the crash. The nearest police car was more than a block behind the Lexus at the time of the crash.
Police have said the passenger in the Lexus was ejected from the vehicle in the crash and was pronounced dead at the scene. The Cook County Medical Examiner’s office identified the man as 18-year-old Luis Angel Mendez Reyes of Cicero.
The driver of the Lexus was injured and two guns were recovered from the Lexus, police said.
The driver of the SUV suffered minor injuries. No officers were injured.
Police say the chase began after officers on patrol investigating robberies near the 5500 block of South Pulaski Road saw two people, believed to be armed, getting into a black Lexus sedan. When officers attempted to investigate, the Lexus took off and officers gave chase.
COPA has not yet ruled on whether the pursuit was justified. Chicago Police Department rules determine when officers can pursue vehicles, requiring officers to perform a so-called balance test. Officers must consider both the severity of the crime that prompted the pursuit, the potential danger to pedestrians, how much traffic is on the road and what the road conditions are.
