Evanston police have one person in custody after a car chase for suspected drug dealers ended in a traffic accident late this afternoon.
Cmdr. Jay Parrott says officers were chasing the suspects when the suspects’ van hit other cars on Main Street near the entrance to the Robert Crown Center.
One of the suspects reportedly dropped a gun as he fled the scene. Parrott says officers have recovered the gun and arrested one suspect.
The canine unit was called out to search for the second suspect, but he so far has eluded capture.
The accident was one of several in the city this afternoon and evening as Evanston recorded its first significant snowfall of the season.
Parrott says the incident began about 4:45 p.m. when officers responded to phoned-in report of an armed robbery. Police spotted a vehicle matching the description the caller provided near Main Street and Ridge Avenue and attempted to stop it.
But, Parrott says, the driver sped off, hitting several other cars in the 1700 block of Main Street before coming to a stop.
He says an investigation revealed that the robbery call was the result of a drug deal gone awry. He says police recovered crack cocaine from the arrested suspect and over $1000 in currency.
Criminal charges are pending. Parrott says the person who initially reported the robbery declined to cooperate with police and that no one was injured in the collisions.