A woman who was riding in a taxi was killed and three others were injured Wednesday night when a driver fleeing from police in a stolen vehicle caused a crash on the Near North Side, according to Chicago Police.
At 10:54 p.m., officers tried to stop a white Jeep Grand Cherokee that had been reported stolen in the 500 Block of North State, but the driver refused to pull over and sped off southbound on State.
The Jeep, occupied by three adults, turned westbound on Grand and ran a red light at Dearborn, where it struck a northbound taxi cab. The taxi then hit two pedestrians on the sidewalk, police said.
A passenger in the taxi, 66-year-old Diana J. Lampsa, was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where she was pronounced dead, police and the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office said. She lived in Palmyra, Wisconsin.
An autopsy Thursday found she died of her injuries in the crash and her death was ruled an accident, the medical examiner’s office said.
A 45-year-old man and 48-year-old woman who were hit by the taxi were being treated for possible broken legs, police said. The man was taken to Stroger Hospital and the woman was taken to Illinois Masonic Medical Center. Both of their conditions had stabilized.
The driver of the taxi, a 65-year-old man, was being treated for minor injuries at Illinois Masonic, where he was in good condition, police said.
All three adults in the Jeep were taken into custody, police said. None of them were injured.
Area Central detectives and the Major Accidents Investigation Unit were investigating.
