Man charged after crash, barricade situation in Franklin Park

A driver involved in a Friday crash on the Tri-State Tollway was charged Saturday after fighting with a state trooper, running away from the scene, barricading himself inside a home, and holding an elderly woman hostage near west suburban Franklin Park.

Thomas Chico, 28, of Chicago, was charged with four counts of home invasion, five counts of aggravated unlawful restraint, one count of aggravated battery to a police officer and one count of aggravated resisting, according to a statement from Illinois State Police.

The single-car crash happened about 7:15 a.m. Friday on I-294 near Grand Avenue, according to police. Chico and a female passenger, who has been identified as his wife, were outside of the car when police arrived.

Chico was holding his wife’s hand and an object in his other hand, and began to yell as the trooper approached. The trooper gave verbal commands, but the two got into a “scuffle” before Chico ran away on foot across the interstate. The trooper suffered minor injuries in the altercation, state police said.

A Franklin Park police officer saw Chico run into a house in a subdivision near the expressway, where several occupants left, state police said. Authorities later learned that Chico was holding an elderly woman in the home against her will.

An Illinois State Police negotiator talked with Chico and he “voluntarily exited the residence and was taken into custody without incident,” according to the statement.

Chico appeared in bond court Saturday and was ordered held without bond.