Man charged with murder in fatal Near North Side crash

A man has been charged with causing a crash Wednesday night that killed a 66-year-old woman who was riding in a taxi on the Near North Side.

Cook County Judge John Fitzgerald Lyke Jr. on Saturday denied bail for 27-year-old Ammar Hussain, of Lincolnwood, as he faces a murder charge and several felony counts of fleeing officers.

Hussain was arrested about 10:55 p.m. Wednesday, after he ran a red light during a police pursuit and crashed into a taxi at Grand Avenue and Dearborn Street, according to protectors. Hussain had sped away from officers who tried to pull him over for driving a white 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee with Tennessee license plates that had been reported stolen, a Chicago Police report shows.

The cab’s passenger, 66-year-old Diana J. Lampsa, was killed in the crash, police and the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office said. She lived in Palmyra, Wisconsin.

The cabdriver was hospitalized with contusions, and two pedestrians suffered severe leg injuries when the two vehicles crashed into them on the sidewalk, the police report shows.

Hussain got out of the Jeep and ran away, but officers caught up to him and arrested him nearby, according to the police report. Two passengers in the Jeep were also taken into custody but were later released without being charged, police said.

Hussain will remain jailed until his next court appearance on Wednesday.