VIDEO: Stolen car vs house crash, hit-and-run on Ridge Avenue at Grove Street, Arlington Heights.
Arlington Heights resident Evan Bennett was charged with several misdemeanors and traffic violations Christmas Eve after he crashed a stolen car into a house on Ridge Avenue at Grove Street Saturday morning about 4:50 a.m.
Bennett was chased by the homeowner of the house was hit on the east side of Ridge Avenue Saturday morning, December 24, 2016 as he fled the scene on foot. After crashing a mid-size Cadillac sedan into the front porch and front wall of the two-story home; Police say Evan Bennett, age 23, of the 600 block of West Campbell Street was taken into custody. Bennett ran northbound on Ridge Avenue and eastbound on South Street before he was captured. One of the responding Arlington Heights police officers saw one man chasing another, and Bennett was immediately taken into custody and arrested by 5:00 a.m. Saturday.
Bennett was charged with DUI, criminal trespass to a vehicle and battery, and traffic violations, including improper lane usage, hit-and-run, and driving without insurance. Bennett allegedly tackled the homeowner while he was fleeing, and was therefore charged with battery.
The stolen automobile, which was registered to a Palatine address, went was driven straight through a T-intersection at Ridge Avenue and Grove Street, apparently after heading eastbound on Grove Street. The vehicle headed up the lawn, missed or grazed a large tree, knocked out a porch support post, and hit the front brick wall and the living room window frame. The vehicle was stopped from completely entering the living room by the front brick wall. A bench and Christmas decorations were also destroyed near the front porch.
Police, firefighters and the building department helped the homeowners get a board-up company that closed the opening of the front wall caused by the crashed Cadillac. The building department also checked for structural damage, which was apparently not serious enough to make the house in habitable.
Bennett declined to take a Breathalyzer test. He did receive minor injuries in the crash, but refused medical attention.
Evan Bennett was released on bond, and was scheduled for a January 12, 2017 court date in Rolling Meadows Cook County Circuit Court.
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