Police say woman's body found on expressway was pushed from SUV. (WGN - Chicago)
Police are investigating the death of a woman who fell from an SUV that kept on traveling down the Bishop Ford Expressway this morning, eluding officers for five miles until it crashed on an exit ramp at 127th Street in Alsip, authorities said.
The driver was taken into custody, and police said they were investigating whether Jennifer Mitchell, 27, was pushed from the SUV around 154th Street in Dolton shortly before 1 a.m., officials said.
Mitchell was struck by a semi as she lay on the road, according to Master Sgt. Jason LoCoco. The truck driver stopped and was not taken into custody. A second vehicle may have also struck the woman, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.
Minutes later, a state trooper spotted the SUV on the Tri-State Tollway near 159th Street, Master Sgt. Greg Minx said. The trooper signaled for the driver to pull over but he refused, according to police. The trooper followed the SUV until it crashed on an exit ramp by 127th Street, some five miles away.
The driver, a 28-year-old man, was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn but his injuries were not believed to be life-threatening, LaCoco said. The driver was taken into police custody but has not been charged. Police said he has not been cooperative.
Mitchell's parents are pastors of the Greater Deliverance Church of God in Christ on the South Side.
Kina Curry, 27, said she was best friends with Mitchell since they were freshmen at Hyde Park High School. "I know everything about her," Curry said. "She was a loving person, a church-going girl."
Mitchell was a nursing student at Chicago State University, Curry said. She used to work at an M&M factory, but recently quit the job to focus on school. Curry said she last saw Mitchell Saturday morning when the two went to view a Park Forest apartment. Curry is in the market for a new place.
Curry said she heard someone else was driving Mitchell's white SUV. "It's shocking because she never let nobody drive her car, never," Curry said. "That's why I know there's something with that."
asege@tribune.com
Twitter: @AdamSege
Woman dead after falling from SUV; driver arrested after chase
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Woman dead after falling from SUV; driver arrested after chase
