CHICAGO — A road rage incident on a Chicago expressway ramp devolved into gunfire and a one-vehicle crash that caused the victim’s car to burst into flames, leaving him critically injured, prosecutors said.
Jesus Javier, 32, allegedly bragged to co-workers about what happened, and another co-worker who was in his car at the time of the incident contacted the Illinois State Police.
The crash occurred on the outbound feeder ramp from Stony Island to I-94 around 2:30 p.m. on March 12. Javier got into an altercation with another driver and fired shots, causing the victim to crash, according to a detention petition.
State troopers responding to calls of a shooting, rollover crash, and vehicle fire learned that another motorist pulled the 27-year-old victim from his burning Jeep Compass. He was taken to the University of Chicago Hospital.
While he was not shot, he remained in critical condition on Sunday with injuries that included bleeding on the brain.
One of Javier’s co-workers called an ISP tip line to identify Javier and report that they were in his car when they heard him fire about eight shots, officials said.
Investigators put Javier’s license plate number into a database of wanted vehicles. State troopers arrested him on Saturday in the 200 block of West Cermak after his car “hit” on an interstate license plate reader.
Judge Antara Rivera detained Javier, saying he admitted to the shooting and to tossing the firearm he used. She also noted that he “boasted” about the incident.
He is charged with aggravated discharge of a firearm toward an occupied vehicle.
