CHICAGO – Four teenagers from Chicago’s northwest suburbs were killed early Sunday when the pickup truck they were in, fleeing police at a high rate of speed, launched off a bridge and smashed into a parked freight train car on the city’s Southwest Side.
The crash happened around 2:16 a.m. in the 6900 block of South Cicero Avenue in Bedford Park, just south of Midway International Airport. Surveillance video obtained from the scene captures the terrifying final moments: the vehicle becomes airborne as it leaves the roadway, plummets into the train yard below, and collides with a stationary boxcar before coming to rest amid the tracks.
Chicago police say the incident began when officers responded to a report that someone in a vehicle had pointed a gun at another driver. Officers located a truck matching the description and attempted a traffic stop. The driver refused to pull over and sped away, prompting a brief pursuit that police said was quickly terminated.
Illinois State Police later spotted the same vehicle and attempted another stop. The driver briefly complied before flooring it again. As the truck raced southbound on Cicero Avenue, reportedly traveling in the wrong lanes at times, the driver lost control, sent the vehicle off the bridge, and into the train yard.
Three of the occupants, two males and one female, were pronounced dead at the scene. A fourth, a female, was rushed to Advocate Christ Medical Center in critical condition and later died from her injuries.
The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the victims as:
Cristofer Lopez Montan, 19, of Woodstock
Yuarem Garcia-Pena, 18, of Woodstock
Yaritza Martinez Villeda, 17, of Crystal Lake
Vanessa Morales, 14, of Palatine
Morales, who was set to begin her freshman year of high school, had been looking forward to orientation the following day, according to her family.
The Chicago Police Department’s Investigative Response Team is leading the investigation. Authorities have not yet publicly identified which of the teens was behind the wheel.
The graphic surveillance footage has circulated widely, showing the high-speed trajectory and impact under the viaduct in the dark early-morning hours. No officers or bystanders were injured in the crash.
Police continue to urge the public that fleeing from law enforcement is never worth the risk, especially at high speeds on city streets and overpasses. The case remains under active investigation.
