N. Aurora man charged in chase that led to Geneva school lockdown

A North Aurora man is accused of leaving the scene of an accident Wednesday morning on Randall Road, leading police to chase his vehicle, then him, through part of west side Batavia and Geneva.

Ivan Navarro, 26, of the 800 block of Hidden Creek, turned himself in at the Batavia Police Department Wednesday afternoon. He remains jailed there, pending an appearance in bond court Thursday.

Batavia police say an officer saw a black Pontiac being driven north on Randall Road at 78 mph around 8 a.m. At McKee Street, a Geneva police officer saw it drive between two vehicles stopped for a red light in adjacent northbound lanes, hitting one of them.

The vehicle went north to Mill Street, then east on Mill, hitting a mailbox in the residential neighborhood. It drove through three stop signs, then stopped on Thorsen Lane near Western Avenue. The driver ran off.

Batavia police tracked down the owner of the car, who told them who the driver was, according to a prepared statement from Batavia police.

Navarro is charged with aggravated fleeing and eluding police, a Class 4 felony; aggravated driving while license revoked, a Class 4 felony; reckless driving; leaving the scene of a property-damage accident (two counts); speeding; disobeying a stop light; and disobeying a stop sign (three counts), according to Batavia police.

While the search went on, Western Avenue Elementary School in Geneva was advised by Geneva police to institute a soft lockdown. For most of the day, students were not allowed to go outside for recess or physical education, but were allowed to move about normally inside the school. The school is about a mile north of where the car was abandoned.