Prosecutors: Driver Cuts Off Trooper, Speeds Off, Fights Back When Caught

(STMW) -- An admitted gang member who allegedly cut off an Illinois State Police squad car on the Kennedy Expressway sped away after being pulled over, then crashed into a taxicab in River North and fought a state trooper over his arrest, prosecutors said on Saturday, the Chicago Sun-Times is reporting.

Prosecutors said the chase began on Wednesday about 9:45 p.m. when an Illinois State Police trooper tried to curb Tyrell R. Bishop's Jeep near the northbound Ohio Street ramp. The trooper spotted the Jeep drifting in and out of lanes, and the Jeep then cut off his State Police-issued Chevy Tahoe.

Bishop, 31, of the 8100 block of South Eberhart did pull over, but once the trooper stood behind his Jeep, he sped away. The trooper took chase and followed him off the Ohio Street ramp, where Bishop's Jeep ran a red light and disappeared. The trooper continued to drive around to find him and spotted his Jeep, which had collided with a taxicab near Franklin and Grand streets. Two passengers in the vehicle were injured in the crash.

No one was in his car but the trooper found Bishop on a nearby sidewalk, prosecutors said.

Bishop fought the arrest, pushing away the trooper. Prosecutors said the trooper brought him to the ground to try to arrest him and the two scuffled. The trooper's pinky was fractured during the fight.

Prosecutors said the two injured passengers remained hospitalized on Friday.

Bishop was ticketed for having an expired drivers license, improper use of a lane and disobeying a traffic signal. He was also charged with aggravated fleeing, resisting arrest and leaving the scene of a crash, authorities said.

Court records show he is a self-admitted gang member.

Cook County Judge James Brown ordered Bishop held on $150,000 bond on Saturday.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2014. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)