A man and his passenger have been arrested after he sped away from a traffic stop Wednesday afternoon and led police on a chase, eventually crashing an SUV into a house in north suburban Waukegan.
A Lake County sheriff’s deputy attempted to stop a 2004 Lincoln SUV on McAree Road near Grand Avenue in Waukegan at 3:12 p.m., according to a statement from the sheriff’s office.
The SUV was driven by 31-year-old Lee Hernandez, who had an active arrest warrant and whose driving privileges had been revoked, police said. The deputy activated his emergency lights and Hernandez initially slowed, but then sped away.
The SUV turned east onto Glen Flora Avenue, making numerous traffic violations, and by the time the deputy made the same turn, the SUV was out of sight, police said. The deputy eventually found the SUV crashed into a house in the 1900 block of Glen Flora. There were people in the house at the time of the crash, but no one was injured.
Hernandez and his passenger, 21-year-old Aliyah J. Massari, both ran away after the crash, police said. They were found a short time later walking nearby and were taken to Vista Medical Center East in Waukegan, where they were treated and released back into police custody.
Hernandez, who lives in the 3800 block of North Cornell Road in Beach Park, was charged with four felony counts of aggravated fleeing and eluding, police said. He also faces misdemeanor charges of leaving the scene of a traffic crash, failure to give information after a traffic crash, attempted possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and numerous traffic citations.
Massari, of the 6400 block of 11th Avenue in Kenosha, Wisconsin, was charged with one count possession of methamphetamine, three counts of unlawful possession of another’s credit card, two counts of identity theft and three counts forgery, all felonies, police said.
They are both being held at the Lake County Jail on a $100,000 bond each, police said. Hernandez is next scheduled to appear in court Sept. 26, while Massari is due back in court Sept. 29.
