Illinois woman arrested after reaching 110 mph with toddler in vehicle

Post-Tribune, Post-Tribune (Merrillville, Ind.)
·2 min read
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A Grayslake, Illinois woman was arrested Tuesday afternoon after speeding through traffic stopped for a fatal crash.

Ana Lidia Perez, 48, is charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated and endangering a person less than 18 years old and two counts of resisting law enforcement, which are Level 6 felonies, along with misdemeanor resisting law enforcement, operating a vehicle while intoxicated and reckless driving, court records state.

Around 4 p.m. Tuesday, a Lake County Sheriff’s Department officer was driving north on I-65 from U.S. 30 and traffic was stopped due to a fatal crash that happened an hour earlier around the Ridge Road exit, according to a release from Sheriff Oscar Martinez. The officer was stopped in the left lane when he saw a white Chevy passenger car speed past him on the shoulder. The car hit a piece of metal, which flew into the air and struck the officer’s patrol car, the release stated.

The police officer activated his emergency lights and sirens, shifted onto the shoulder and pursued the driver. The driver was traveling at more than 110 miles per hour at several points during the pursuit, police said. The car eventually stopped just south of where emergency workers were gathered at the scene of the fatal crash. In the earlier crash, Inkwon Seol, 44, of Long Grove, Illinois, was killed after a vehicle rear-ended his 2010 Hyundai Elantra and put his car in the path of a truck which struck his driver’s side.

The Lake County police officer approached the driver of the Chevy and saw a small child sitting in the rear passenger seat, police said. The officer ordered Perez to get out of the car several times but she refused to comply, so police pulled her from the vehicle. Perez resisted attempts to place her in handcuffs, so an Indiana State Police trooper assisted in securing the suspect, the release stated.

A 4-year-old boy was taken out of the car, and Child Protective Services was notified. Police said the boy was placed with his grandmother.

In the car’s cup holder, police found an open can containing an alcoholic beverage.

Perez was taken by ambulance to an area hospital for evaluation and treatment and is now in custody at the Lake County Jail.