March 13--He was behind the wheel of the swerving Mercedes--with Chicago Police on his tail. She was a passenger in the car--pregnant and holding a baby on her lap.
Before it was all over, the driver would strike and injure a pedestrian crossing the street and, eventually, slam into the back of a CTA bus.
Anthony Thomas, 22, and Brianna Courts, 18, both of the 2200 block of South Springfield Avenue, together were hit with nearly 20 charges related to the chase and crash--including child endangerment. Courts allegedly had the couple's baby daughter in her lap during the chase, prosecutors said in a Thursday hearing at the Leighton Criminal Court Building.
Police on Wednesday afternoon noticed a Mercedes with no license plates driving erratically and, suspecting the car was stolen and the driver inebriated, attempted to pull the car over, according to a police report. Thomas, who was driving the car, refused to pull over, and then drove through stop lights and stop signs, prosecutors said.
At the intersection of Chicago Avenue and Pulaski Road, he hit a 59-year-old woman in the crosswalk, who suffered a broken arm and fractured pelvis, according to prosecutors. Thomas allegedly continued to drive away after hitting the victim.
Police continued to pursue the car, but it did not stop until it crashed into the back of a CTA bus and injured some passengers, prosecutors said.
Courts, who was in the passenger seat, allegedly got out of the car and ran to a nearby laundromat, where police arrested her, according to a police report. Upon searching her backpack, authorities found a cell phone box containing 22 baggies of a green substance--a total of 15 grams of suspected marijuana, the report states.
Thomas allegedly ran to a nearby building and broke in by damaging six doors and a porch window, the arrest report states, but was arrested on the second floor. According to prosecutors, he admitted to smoking weed before driving, and said that he smokes weed every day when he wakes up. The man was carrying $778 cash and didn't offer a consistent explanation for where he got the money, according to the police report.
Courts, who is six months pregnant, was taken to a hospital for observation. She is charged with felony possession of cannabis with intent to deliver and child endangerment, a misdemeanor. Judge James Brown ordered her released on a $10,000 recognizance bond.
Thomas was charged with several offenses, including aggravated DUI causing great bodily harm, trespassing, and fleeing police. Brown ordered Thomas held in lieu of $50,000 bond.
Want more? Discuss this article and others on RedEye's Facebook page.
