Two arrested after Wheaton car chase

Two Indiana men were arrested after leading police on a high speed chase through Wheaton and Glen Ellyn early Saturday morning.

Daniel Contreras, 18, of 4722 Henry Avenue in Hammond, Ind., was arrested with a male juvenile after the car chase ended, said Thomas Meloni, deputy chief of the Wheaton Police Department.

Meloni said a police officer was on patrol in the 900 block of E. Roosevelt when he noticed a car driving without its headlights. The officer initiated a traffic stop on the vehicle on Roosevelt, but, as the officer approached the stolen car, Contreras took off at a high rate of speed.

"The car had a temporary plate on it out of Indiana," he said. "After the car took off, the office ran back to his squad, radioed in for help, then gave chase."

Contreras headed down Roosevelt, eventually crossing into Glen Ellyn, where the Glen Ellyn police department joined in the chase.

The two assailants were finally pulled over at Roosevelt and Baker Hill, and taken from the car without incident, Meloni said.

"The car was stolen out of a car lot in Wheaton on Roosevelt Road," he said.

Contreras was charged with aggravated fleeing and eluding as well as possession of a stolen vehicle.

Charges for the unnamed juvenile passenger are still pending, Meloni said.