Elgin men charged after crash leads to gunfire, high-speed chase, officials say
The incident began early Sunday morning when the driver of a Hyundai Sonata — later identified as Iban Pelayo, 19, of the 400 block of Locust Street — reportedly drove onto the shoulder of the Lake Street exit ramp from Interstate 290 in an attempt to get around a car, a news release from the DuPage County State's Attorney's Office and the Elmhurst Police Department said.
When he merged back onto the ramp, he struck the car's right passenger side and drove away, the report said.
The victims followed the car, which struck a mailbox near Stone Avenue and Ellsworth Avenue but did not stop, officials said. As the two vehicles continued to an area near Lake Street and Villa Avenue, the passenger in the Sonata — identified as Cristopher Martinez Mendoza, 19, of the 400 block of South Edison Avenue — allegedly fired a gun at the victims' car, prompting them to end the pursuit and call the police, the release said.
An Elmhurst police officer spotted the Sonata about 1:05 a.m. and tried to pull it over near the I-290 eastbound on-ramp but Pelayo instead drove onto the interstate and tried to flee at speeds that reached 115 mph, the release said.
When Pelayo exited at St. Charles Road, his car crashed, causing it to go airborne, and was stopped by police before he could drive away, officials said. Martinez Mendoza fled on foot and was apprehended about 10 minutes later, the release said.
Police recovered two live 9 mm rounds from the Sonata and a Polymer 80, known as a ghost gun, with a 9 mm magazine loaded with 10 rounds from a culvert where Martinez Mendoza allegedly threw it, the report said.
Martinez Mendoza has been charged with one count each of aggravated discharge of a firearm-direction of an occupied vehicle and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon-no FOID.
Pelayo was charged with one count each of aggravated discharge of a firearm-direction of an occupied vehicle and aggravated fleeing and eluding.
DuPage County Judge Joshua Dieden granted the prosecution's request that both men be retained in jail pending the case's outcome, the release said.
'Crashing into and then shooting at another vehicle before leading police on a high-speed chase, as alleged in this case, may be something you see in the movies, but in DuPage County this type of behavior will quickly land you behind bars,' State's Attorney Robert Berlin said in a statement. 'Thankfully, no innocent motorists were injured or killed as a result of the defendants' alleged actions.'
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