Murder charges filed against teen who allegedly fled police in stolen car at speeds of 95 mph and killed woman in crash

Dominga Flores, 55, was fatally struck at 31st Street and Kedzie Avenue while on her way to work early Thursday.

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Scene of accident where a stolen Honda crashed into a car at 31st Street and Kedzie Avenue, killing Dominga Flores, 55.

Pat Nabong/Sun-Times

For 11 miles across the Southwest Side, the police car chased the stolen SUV as it weaved through traffic and blew red lights, keeping close behind even as speeds reached 95 mph.

The Honda HRV drove on the wrong side of the road. It tore through at least three intersections against the light. It nearly hit a pedestrian.

After nine minutes, the officers said they slowed down as the Honda turned onto 31st Street. They were only a block away when the Honda slammed into a car driven by Dominga Flores, 55, killing her as she headed for work down Kedzie Avenue.

Police officials would not comment about Thursday’s harrowing chase. But prosecutors provided some details as the alleged driver of the stolen car — 17-year-old Juan Vazquez — appeared in court on first-degree murder charges Friday.

Vazquez ran from the Honda after the crash but was arrested after a brief foot chase, according to police. He still had the keys to the Honda, which had been stolen five hours earlier from a 65-year-old woman, according to a police report.

Dominga_Flores.jpeg

Dominga Flores

Provided

Vazquez was charged with first-degree murder and aggravated fleeing of police. He was denied bond during a hearing Friday before Judge Maryam Ahmad, who said she was “rendered speechless” by how fast Vazquez was driving.

“It’s a miracle the people in the car with him weren’t killed, including himself,” Ahmad said. Police said Vazquez and three others in the Honda suffered only minor injuries. Two guns were recovered from the car.

Two of the passengers in the Honda — 15 and 17 years old — were charged with aggravated unlawful use of a weapon. The third passenger, Enrique Angeles, 22, was charged with criminal trespass in a vehicle.

A man who identified himself at Vazquez’s father but didn’t give his name, said: “It was an accident, that’s all” and declined further comment. Later, in court for his son’s hearing, the father blamed police for chasing the Honda.

The Honda had been stolen around 6:55 p.m. Wednesday in the 3400 block of South Claremont Avenue about 2 miles away, according to police. The owner of the car had gone outside to retrieve a cellphone when a stolen white pickup truck pulled up and someone got out and demanded the keys to the car, police said.

The woman refused and the robber “told the victim he would kill her if she did not give the keys,” according to an arrest report. He then grabbed the keys from her and sped off along with the stolen truck.

About an hour and a half later, a white Honda Civic was stolen from the area of 1900 W. 21st Place, about two miles away. Minutes later, the pick-up truck is set on fire and police spot both stolen Hondas in the area of 3300 S. Oakley Avenue, the white Honda following the black Honda, according to prosecutors.

The black Honda failed to stop at a stop sign and officers began chasing it, activating their lights and sirens, prosecutors said. At one point, the officers were able to pull alongside and noticed the driver was wearing a black ski mask. Part of a tattoo was visible under his left eye — a description prosecutors said matched Vazquez.

When the officers finally slowed down, the Honda continued east on 31st and ran a red light and struck Flores’ car. The impact sent her car spinning across a sidewalk and into a vacant lot. The Honda spun around and stopped in traffic, according to prosecutors.

Vazquez and a passenger ran off but were quickly arrested. The two others were trapped in the back of the SUV. After Vazquez was arrested, his father asked if he was driving the Honda and he nodded yes, prosecutors said.

The assistant public defender representing Vazquez argued Friday that there was “no evidence” her client was involved in stealing the Honda. She noted that Vazquez is a senior at an alternative high school and is enrolled in mentoring and job programs. 

But the judge pointed out that Vazquez was already facing an unlawful use of a weapon charge before the crash. “He is on the court’s bond already,” she said in denying bail.

After the hearing, sheriff’s deputies tried to Vazquez’s supporters to quickly exit the building as they made angry comments about the judge’s ruling. 

Two of Flores’ relatives who attended the hearing told deputies through an interpreter that they had walked and taken public transportation to attend the hearing. A deputy said she was concerned for their safety and began trying to coordinate a ride for them so they could “safely get home.”

Flores was on her way to work, and was about a block away when the Honda struck the driver’s side of her car, according to Flores’ daughter.

She worked nights most of her life so she could see her children in the morning, her daughter said. “She was a wonderful mother,” said her daughter, who asked not to be named. “It’s not fair. We loved her very much.”

A friend of the family, who didn’t want to be named, said Flores “was a hardworking person, humble. Didn’t want problems with anybody.”

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