Driver fleeing traffic stop hits squad car, leaving officer, couple injured on Northwest Side

A Chicago police officer and a couple in their 80s were injured when a car sped away from a traffic stop and crashed into a squad car on the Northwest Side Wednesday, officials said.

An unmarked police car tried to pull over a car near Fullerton and Central avenues around 11:35 a.m., police said. The car stopped then sped away, hitting a marked police car that was responding to another incident.

The fleeing car then veered toward pedestrians near a bus stop, police said.

It was unclear if the car hit the pedestrians or not, police said, but two people in their 80s were taken to Illinois Masonic Medical Center.

A man, 81, suffered a head injury and a woman, 83, didn’t have any visible injuries, hospital staff told police.

An officer was taken to Lutheran General Hospital, according to Fire Department spokesman Larry Merritt. The officer’s injuries were unknown but he was “stable,” police said.

A gun was recovered from the car that fled, and both the driver and passenger were arrested, police said.

Brian Rich/Sun-Times