Elmhurst man charged with leading police on chase, injuring officer denied pretrial release
Pictured is Gratas Zvirblis, 21. (DuPage County State's Attorney)
ELMHURST, Ill. - An Elmhurst man accused of leaving the scene of a crash and leading police on a chase has been denied pretrial release.
Gratas Zvirblis, 21, appeared in court Friday morning on multiple charges stemming from an incident on Oct. 24, which include:
- One count of aggravated fleeing and eluding a police officer, a Class 4 Felony.
- One count of resisting a police officer causing injury, a Class 4 Felony.
- More than a dozen misdemeanor and petty traffic offenses, including DUI and leaving the scene of an accident involving damage to an attended vehicle.
Lombard police say they were called to a crash on I-88 involving a gray BMW driven by Zvirblis, who was fleeing the scene and heading eastbound on Butterfield Road.
An officer located the BMW, which was being driven on just one of its rims.
Zvirblis allegedly failed to stop after police activated their emergency lights and sirens, continuing to Spring Road, where he rear-ended another vehicle. He then fled on foot, but got out of his vehicle in the 900 block of Spring Road, in Elmhurst, and ran west.
An officer pursuing Zvirblis attempted to apprehend him as he tried jumping over a fence, prosecutors said. The officer grabbed Zvirblis and both men fell to the ground.
Zvirblis allegedly resisted the officer's attempts to handcuff him during a struggle and the officer injured his left elbow.
When taken into custody, Zvirblis reportedly smelled of alcohol, had bloodshot eyes, and slurred his speech.
Zvirblis also had an outstanding arrest warrant for aggravated assault and disorderly conduct related to a previous road rage incident, according to the DuPage County State's Attorney.
His next court appearance is set for Nov. 18 for arraignment.