State trooper dragged by fleeing vehicle in Pilsen

An Illinois State Police trooper was dragged by a vehicle Sunday while trying to question people leaving the scene of a crash on the Dan Ryan Expressway in Pilsen on the South Side.

Authorities were called about 5:15 a.m. for reports of a male and female walking away from a single-vehicle crash on southbound I-94 at 18th Street, according to a statement from Illinois State Police.

A trooper spotted the pair near 18th and Union Avenue and started talking to them when a relative drove up in another vehicle, state police said. The male who the trooper was questioning then ran to the family member’s car and drove away.

The trooper tried to stop the car and was dragged for about half a block while holding onto the steering wheel, state police said.

The trooper fell to the pavement and the vehicle kept going and crashed at 18th and Halsted streets, state police said. The driver got out and ran away. The female and the relative stayed at the scene with police near 18th and Union.

The trooper was taken to a hospital with injuries that were not thought to be life-threatening, state police said.

The incident remains under investigation by state police.

Another state trooper was forced to cling to the sunroof of a vehicle fleeing a traffic stop last week on the Eisenhower Expressway. Trooper Brian Spillane was treated and released from a hospital for his injury from the encounter.

The driver, 31-year-old Steven Carlson Gouveia, was charged with attempted first-degree murder of a police officer.

Three troopers have been killed and at least 16 struckby vehicles this year.

Read more on crime, and track the city’s homicides.