Park City man charged after chase, crashes into police cars

Children playing on a sidewalk were nearly struck in Park City before a pursuit escalated into a crash with police cars and a wrecked Jeep Patriot. Authorities say Francisco R. Martinez-Perales, 30, of Park City, is now charged after the chase that ended near Teske Boulevard and Old Plank Road.

Park City police were called around 7:15 p.m. on April 24, 2025, after a reckless driver was reported running stop signs and nearly running over children on the sidewalk. Officers found the vehicle described by the 911 caller, a 2012 Jeep Patriot, and tried to stop it. Police say the driver fled at a high rate of speed.

The pursuit moved southbound on Teske Boulevard, where an officer used a squad car in an attempt to block the road. The Jeep stopped long enough for the officer to see that the driver was a Hispanic male, then reversed and backed into a Park City police squad car with its emergency lights activated and an officer inside, according to details Nicholas Shepherd, a Lake County assistant state’s attorney, provided in court. Martinez-Perales then went around another squad car and kept fleeing, weaving between lanes and striking a squad car each time he crossed over, police said.

Officers ultimately stopped the Jeep at Teske Boulevard and Old Plank Road, where it crashed. Martinez-Perales was taken by ambulance to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville for treatment of injuries, and one officer was also transported to the hospital and later released the same day.

The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office approved charges of aggravated battery to a peace officer, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, aggravated fleeing to elude, aggravated driving under the influence and driving on a revoked license. The case underscores how quickly a stop-sign violation on a neighborhood street can turn into a threat to children, officers and anyone nearby.