CHICAGO _ Three Chicago women are suspected of crashing into a police car during a chase that ended when the stolen car in which they were fleeing plunged into a ditch while loaded with $2,500 in stolen designer duds in northwest Deer Park, officials said.
About 5:40 p.m. Friday, police were patrolling a retail shopping area in the 21800 block of West Long Grove Road when a white Chevrolet Impala that was reported stolen drove past them, and the officers "recognized the occupants" from police bulletins detailing retail thefts in the Chicago area, according to a written statement from the Lake County sheriff's office.
The 18-year-old woman behind the wheel of the Impala, Jonva C. Vivetter, would not stop when sheriff's deputies activated their lights and sirens and tried to pull her over, and officers began chasing them southbound on U.S. 12, the statement said.
As Vivetter got close to Lake Cook Road, she crashed into at least three cars, including a sheriff's squad car, and continued east onto Lake Cook Road before getting onto Illinois Route 53, where Vivetter veered into a ditch, and she and the other two women _ Jamesha J. McChristine and Dezire Cashay Ann Parker _ jumped out and began running away.
McChristine, 21, was taken into custody promptly, but police had to taze Vivetter and eventually arrested Parker, 20, according to the sheriff's statement.
After searching the Impala, police found about $2,500 worth of expensive perfumes including Chanel, Ugg boots and several pieces of clothing, all believed to have been stolen, the statement said.
Vivetter, of Chicago's Englewood neighborhood; Parker, of Lakeview; and McChristine, of Chatham, were taken to the Lake County jail, where they remained after their first court appearance.
Vivetter, charged with possession of a stolen vehicle and fleeing and eluding, both of which are felonies, was also wanted on five warrants _ four involving accusations of shoplifting and retail theft. Parker and McChristine were charged with misdemeanor resisting arrest.
Sheriff's police detectives are continuing to investigate, and additional charges are possible.
