Car Chase Ends in Fatal Shooting in West Town

Nicholas Ramirez, 19, was shot in the head and leg, police said

A car chase that began in Chicago's Wicker Park neighborhood Saturday ended with a three-car crash and fatal shooting in the West Town neighborhood, police said.

Witnesses said an SUV was being chased by a Nissan around 2:30 a.m. when the SUV struck a parked Budget rental truck, a moving BMW and a concrete median before coming to rest near Ashland Avenue and Hubbard Street.

Witnesses said passengers from both the Nissan and the SUV began fighting in the street when someone opened fire, fatally shooting a man in the SUV.

Nineteen-year-old Nicholas Ramirez, of the 3900 block of South Rockwell Street, was pronounced dead at the scene with gunshot wounds to the head and leg.

People riding in the Nissan fled the scene. 

"People came out and got into a fight," said the driver of the BMW, Senthil Muthuswamy. "Luckily, there was a cop. He tried to close off the scene. The people in the Nissan Altima jumped into their car and drove off."

Police said the car was later found abandoned in a nearby alley. 

No one was in custody Saturday morning and Area Central detectives are investigating.

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