Two people believed to be heroin users were saved from a burning vehicle by police on Sept. 11. Police were dispatched to the shoulder of the westbound side of Interstate 290 at Harlem Avenue at 12:24 a.m. to find a red 2010 Chevrolet on fire with one unconscious man in the passenger’s seat. 

As the responding officer began to extinguish the flames, another officer found a second unconscious person sitting in the driver’s seat of the Chevrolet. The two people were carried from the vehicle by officers, who performed CPR. 

Upon noticing track marks on the puffy hands of the vehicle’s occupants, the officers administered a dose of NARCAN nasal spray, used to treat opioid overdoses, to the driver and the passenger. The two were then transported by paramedics to a hospital for further treatment. Officers also found two clear plastic bags of a substance suspected to be heroin.  

Battery

 Police arrested a Chicago man after he allegedly spat multiple times on a female CTA employee in the 700 block of Desplaines Avenue at 9:33 p.m., Sept. 12. Upon apprehension, the suspect resisted the arrest by kicking and twisting his body.

 The owner of Smokin M’s BBQ, 7507 Roosevelt Rd., was the victim of aggravated battery, after denying a party of three women and one man a full refund for a meal at 6:52 p.m., Sept. 12. Police reports state that the diners, who were denied the requested refund as they had repeatedly changed their order, became belligerent, throwing sauces at the owner and with the man hitting the owner’s face, head and upper body with closed fists, causing the owner to fall to the ground. The group fled in two SUVS before officers arrived at the scene. Paramedics transported the restaurant owner to the hospital.

Burglary

Someone broke into a blue 2019 Chevrolet of an unknown model, possibly left unlocked, and removed the victim’s wallet, which contained identification and $200 in cash, and a magazine with 10 to 12 .40 caliber ammunition between 10 p.m., Sept. 14 and 11:30 a.m., Sept. 15. 

Motor vehicle theft

A red 2018 Dodge Charger was taken from the 200 block of Des Plaines Avenue between 7 p.m., Sept. 14 and 9 a.m., Sept. 15. 

Robbery 

A man was pushed over and robbed of $150 in cash after asking the male offender, who had solicited money, why he was asking for money instead of working for it, at 12:23 p.m., Sept. 15 in the 7200 block of Circle Avenue.

Criminal damage to property

 Someone threw a brick at the windshield of a 2003 blue GMC vehicle at 11:57 p.m., Sept. 14 in the 1200 block of Marengo Avenue.

 The rear driver’s side tire belonging to a gray 2016 Jeep was damaged between 10 p.m., Sept. 15 and 1 p.m., Sept. 16.

These items, obtained from Forest Park Police Department, came from reports Sept. 10 -16 and represent a portion of the incidents to which police responded. Anyone named in these reports has only been charged with a crime and cases have not yet been adjudicated. We report the race of a suspect only when a serious crime has been committed, the suspect is still at large, and police have provided us with a detailed physical description of the suspect as they seek the public’s help in making an arrest.

Compiled by Stacey Sheridan