Suburban man denied pre-trial release after leading police on high speed chase: prosecutors

WHEATON, Ill. - Pre-trial release has been denied for a suburban man accused of leading police on a high-speed chase.

Oscar Salazar, 35, appeared in court Thursday morning. He is charged with two counts of aggravated fleeing and eluding a police officer, a Class 4 felony, and several misdemeanor and petty traffic offenses, which include aggravated speeding in a school zone, according to the DuPage County State's Attorney.

His charges stem from Jan. 17, when Villa Park police saw a vehicle in a Jewel-Osco parking lot that had sped away from Bloomingdale police several days ago. 

The vehicle, allegedly driven by Salazar, left the parking lot a short time later and was followed by officers. 

After driving for a mile, officers then activated their emergency lights and sirens to conduct a traffic stop on Salazar's vehicle. But, he did not pull over, according to the DuPage County State's Attorney.

Salazar then drove through a stop sign at Sunset Drive and an officer pulled up next to him to deploy a mobile spike strip. 

Officials say Salazar's rear right tire was disabled, but he continued to drive, passing through multiple stoplights and heading westbound on North Avenue while reaching speeds of 80 miles per hour. 

Police again deployed spike strips and Salazar's front right tire was compromised. 

He continued to drive, heading toward I-355, but as he tried to enter the southbound interstate, police deployed more spike strips and his vehicle inevitably came to a stop. 

Officers told Salazar to get out of the car, but he refused, according to the state's attorney. Police then deployed their Tasers and took Salazar into custody. 

No injuries were reported during the chase.

Salazar is set to appear in court Jan. 29 for arraignment.