2 teens charged after expressway chase, crash near Goose Island

Two teenage boys are facing misdemeanor charges after an expressway police chase that started with an apparent attempted robbery in north suburban Skokie, and ended with a crash late Wednesday near Goose Island on the Near West Side.

About 10:30 p.m., the cashier at a Shell station in the 9600 block of Crawford Avenue called police to report a suspicious silver SUV in the parking lot, according to Skokie police.

Two males got out of the vehicle with their faces covered by their shirts, and tried to enter the station, police said. But the doors were locked and they got back in the SUV and headed north on Crawford.

A check of the SUV’s registration revealed it had been stolen from Chicago, police said. About 45 minutes later, Skokie detectives located the vehicle parked behind another station at Old Orchard Road and Lawler Avenue.

The driver saw the detectives and pulled away, running a red light at the intersection and pulling onto the Edens Expressway. Police tried to stop the SUV as it headed north, but lost sight of it.

Skokie police terminated the chase and Illinois State Police took over.

Chicago Monroe District officers were called at 11:03 p.m. to assist, according to Chicago Police. The SUV eventually crashed into a tree in the 800 block of North Sangamon.

The people inside the vehicle got out and tried to run away and the two juvenile boys were arrested, police said. They were charged with misdemeanor counts of criminal trespass to vehicle.