Chicago teen charged with leading suburban police on high-speed chase in stolen car

COOK COUNTY, Ill. - A Chicago teen is facing charges after allegedly leading police officers on a high-speed chase through suburban Cook County over the weekend.

On Friday around 6:16 p.m., officers located a Hyundai Elantra that had been reported stolen from Bellwood the day before, according to the DuPage County State's Attorney's Office.

Officers pursued the car which was allegedly being driven by a 16-year-old boy. The boy led officers from multiple departments on a high-speed chase through multiple cities before getting onto I-290 in Cook County, where he was followed by a police helicopter.

The boy drove the vehicle into oncoming traffic and disobeyed control devices, prosecutors said.

Officers were eventually able to stop the car and the boy got out and tried to run away. He was taken into custody after a brief pursuit.

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The 16-year-old, who has not been identified because he is a juvenile, was charged with one felony count of unlawful possession of a stolen motor vehicle and one misdemeanor count of reckless driving.

"The increasing trend of suspects fleeing from police is extremely dangerous and must stop," DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin said in a statement. "In DuPage County, we will use every tool at our disposal to catch those who flee, including a helicopter, as in this case. The allegations that this juvenile led authorities on a high-speed chase during rush hour are very serious as he put not only himself at risk, but also put the police officers involved and countless other motorists at great risk."

The teen is scheduled to appear in court Friday.