Over the course of a minute on a weekday morning in Yorkville earlier this month, Nichelle Hill made her final decisions.
She chose to stop along the right side of the road when a Yorkville police officer turned on his lights, signaling her to pull over because she was suspected of stealing packages from a nearby property.
Seconds later, as the officer approached her car, she drove away, according to video taken by the squad car’s dashcam.
When the officer caught up to her, she kept going.
Hill, 17, of Dolton, died after she crashed the stolen car she was driving during a pursuit through the city’s Heartland subdivision, police said.
Yorkville police have been directed not to talk any more about the crash, Deputy Police Chief Terry Klingel said.
Dash cam video shows fatal accident in Yorkville Yorkville Police Department / Handout A teen from Dolton drives away from a police traffic stop in Yorkville Jan. 5. After a pursuit through the Yorkville neighborhood, the car crashed into a tree, killing the teen driver. A teen from Dolton drives away from a police traffic stop in Yorkville Jan. 5. After a pursuit through the Yorkville neighborhood, the car crashed into a tree, killing the teen driver. (Yorkville Police Department / Handout)
Police reports and dashcam video obtained by the Beacon-News through a Freedom of Information Act request include witness descriptions of the thefts and show the police chase through the subdivision’s winding streets.
Shortly after 9 a.m. on Jan. 5, a resident of the 700 block of Arrowhead Drive was smoking a cigarette in her garage when she heard a car running in her driveway, she told a Yorkville police investigator.
Not expecting any visitors, the woman went inside and looked out the front window, where she saw a Toyota Avalon backed into her driveway and someone walking from the front porch to the car, carrying several packages, she told police.
Almost immediately after the woman reported the theft, an officer was dispatched to the area to assist another officer with the theft report. Dispatchers advised the Toyota was last seen headed toward Haley Court, according to reports.
As the officer turned onto Homestead Drive, he saw a gray Toyota Avalon and began to follow it. As the Toyota approached Omaha Drive, the officer activated his overhead lights, according to the report. When the Toyota stopped east of the intersection, the officer got out of the squad car and started Betticket walking up to the Toyota. He could see a female driver, later identified as Hill, was the only occupant of the car, according to the report.
Teen dies in Yorkville crash Hannah Leone
A teenage girl died Thursday morning after she crashed a stolen car fleeing from police, Yorkville police said.
At about 9:06 a.m. Thursday, Yorkville police went to the 700 block of Arrowhead Drive for a report that a package had been stolen from the front porch of a residence, according to a…
A teenage girl died Thursday morning after she crashed a stolen car fleeing from police, Yorkville police said.
At about 9:06 a.m. Thursday, Yorkville police went to the 700 block of Arrowhead Drive for a report that a package had been stolen from the front porch of a residence, according to a…
(Hannah Leone)
The officer estimated he was about halfway to the Toyota when it took off. The officer drove after the vehicle, activating his squad car siren, he wrote in the report.
As the pursuit went from Homestead to westbound Heartland Drive, dispatchers advised the officer the Toyota was stolen, according to his report. The officer said the Toyota was exceeding the speed limit and driving erratically, as if the driver was unsure where to turn to get out of the subdivision.
As the cars approached Heartland and Farmstead Drive, the Toyota lost control, went off the roadway and struck a tree, according to the officer’s report. The driver was ejected from the car, according to police. The car landed upright on its wheels, and the tree ended up in the yard of a home on the block.
The officer who had stopped the Toyota requested an ambulance, got out of his car and ran to the driver to render aid, according to reports. Bristol Kendall Fire Department paramedics arrived and took over, but Hill was pronounced dead at the scene at 9:21 a.m., according to the police report.
In a previous interview, Klingel said police were reviewing videos and did not know the speed the cars were traveling, but that it appeared department protocol had been followed.
"It wasn’t a pursuit, per se," Klingel said. "She fled the scene of a traffic stop."
After the crash, officials determined the Toyota was stolen Jan. 2. Police found the Toyota’s owner, who granted permission to search the car. While a detective was searching the Toyota, he located three packages addressed to the woman who reported the theft.
hleone@tribpub.com
Twitter @hannahmleone
Our editors found this article on this site using Google and regenerated it for our readers.
