Lake County Gazette

A man who witnesses said battered his pregnant girlfriend was arrested by Lake County Sheriff's deputies after a vehicle chase on July 18. The chase ended in a multiple-vehicle crash.

According to a Lake County Sheriff's Office press release, deputies were dispatched to a residence in the 18500 block of West Old Gages Lake Road in unincorporated Grayslake at approximately 5 p.m. on a domestic battery call. A 43-year-old woman reported that her daughter's boyfriend had battered her and her 19-year-old daughter, who was pregnant. The suspect left the residence in his Chevrolet HRR with his girlfriend before deputies arrived.

Soon after, dispatchers with the Lake County Sheriff's Emergency Telecommunicators received a 911 call from a witness who reported seeing the suspect repeatedly punching his girlfriend in the car as they traveled on Hunt Club Road near Route 120. A sheriff's deputy spotted the vehicle and attempted a traffic stop near Hunt Club Road and Gages Lake Road. The suspect failed to stop and fled eastbound on Gages Lake Road. Deputies pursued him to rescue his victim from additional harm.

The suspect turned off Gages Lake Road to drive northbound on Route 21. He sped through a red light at its intersection with Washington Street, and his vehicle was struck by a westbound Chevrolet Silverado. The suspect's vehicle then struck a Honda Odyssey that was in the intersection, and the Odyssey then struck a Subaru Outback.

Sheriff's deputies rescued the suspect's girlfriend and had her transported to an area hospital for treatment of the injuries she sustained while being punched, and to evaluate her unborn child. The suspect was apprehended and taken to an area hospital for minor injuries he sustained in the crash. The 51-year-old Park City woman who was driving the Odyssey was taken to the hospital with minor injuries. A 21-year-old Round Lake Beach man who was driving the Silverado also was taken to the hospital with minor injuries. The 66-year-old Park City man who was driving the Outback was uninjured. The Lake County Sheriff's Office asked the Lake County Major Crash Assistance Team to investigate, with assistance from the Gurnee Police Department.

After being treated and released from the hospital, Felix James, 22, of Midday Drive, Zion, was transported to the Lake County Jail. After reviewing the incident, the Lake County State's Attorney's Office approved charges of aggravated battery to a pregnant woman (Class 3 felony), aggravated fleeing and eluding (Class 4 felony), two counts of domestic battery (Class A misdemeanors), and several traffic citations. The State's Attorney's Office is filing a petition to detain James during his court proceedings. Defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.