Two hurt in crash during police chase on South Side

Two people were hurt when a police chase ended with a rollover crash Wednesday morning on the South Side.

About 10:30 a.m., officers responded to a call of shots fired from a red vehicle at 79th and Saginaw, police News Affairs Officer Veejay Zala said. Fraternal Order of Police spokesman Pat Camden said the vehicle was a Mustang.

A few minutes later, a uniformed Chicago Police officer was waiting in a squad car at a railroad crossing at 79th and Exchange when a car matching the description pulled up, Camden said.

The officer got out of her squad car with her weapon in hand and told the suspects to put their hands up. Instead, “they tried to put the car in reverse and run over her,” Camden said.

The officer fired “a couple” of shots at the vehicle, Camden said, but it made a U-turn toward her for a second time, and she fired her weapon again, he said.

The two males in the car were not struck by the bullets, police said.

The gates at the railroad crossing went up and another squad car crossed the tracks and followed the Mustang, which took off, Camden said.

At 79th and Essex, the driver of the Mustang lost control and the car flipped over, Camden said.

Both males, whose ages were not released, suffered non-life-threatening injuries in the crash and were hospitalized, Zala said. Their ages were not released Wednesday afternoon.

No officers were hurt in the incident.

Zala said a weapon was recovered. Camden said the weapon was a handgun.