Park Ridge

Inmate escapes from Park Ridge police along Interstate 294, carjacks two vehicles, authorities say

While heading to the Lake County Jail, the officers noticed the inmate was "acting erratically" in the back seat and saw that he had slipped his handcuffs in front of him, according to police.

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An inmate who escaped from Park Ridge police officers while being transported to jail later carjacked two vehicles before being apprehended by police in Kenosha County, Wisconsin, according to law enforcement.

At around 2:38 p.m. on Saturday, two officers with the Park Ridge Police Department were transporting an inmate, who was wanted on a warrant, to the Lake County Jail. While on their way, the officers noticed the individual was "acting erratically" in the back seat and saw that he had slipped his handcuffs in front of him, according to police. The officers pulled their squad car over on the shoulder of northbound Interstate 294, near mile marker 52, advised dispatch of their location and immediately requested assistance.

Officers attempted to detain the inmate, but he managed to break free, ran across the northbound lanes of traffic and then jumped over a concrete barrier, police said. While in the southbound lanes, he approached a Ford van that had stopped, physically forced the driver out of the vehicle, and then drove away with it.

Around a half hour later, the offender exited the van in the area of Lake Cook Road and Caribou Crossing in Northbrook, where he physically forced the driver out of a Chevy Camaro, according to authorities. Police were able to locate the Camaro, using its OnStar location tracking, and discovered it was heading southbound on Interstate 94 in Kenosha County, Wisconsin. Authorities informed the Wisconsin State Patrol, which stopped the vehicle and took the offender into custody.

Additional details had yet to be released Saturday evening.

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