Police said an 18-year-old driver hit officers, a squad vehicle, a pole and a fence before being arrested.
CHICAGO, IL — Five Chicago police officers were injured early Sunday when a driver struck them while they were dispersing a large gathering on the Near West Side, police said.
The crash happened during a Memorial Day weekend response near Roosevelt Road and Loomis Street, an area where officers had been called for a large crowd. Police said the officers were on foot when they were hit. The driver, an 18-year-old man, was arrested, and charges were pending Sunday.
Police said the incident happened about 3:20 a.m. in the 1200 block of South Loomis Street, near the ABLA Brooks Homes and the Little Italy and University Village area. Officers were trying to break up the gathering when a blue sedan traveled west in the eastbound lanes and struck the officers, according to police accounts. After hitting the officers, the car went over a curb and hit a Chicago Police Department vehicle, a pole and a fence before stopping. Ald. Jason Ervin said the gathering caught many people off guard. “Normally we do not have problems in the Brooks Homes for Memorial Day,” Ervin said, adding that he hoped the injured officers would recover fully.
All five officers were taken to local hospitals. Police said they were listed in fair or good condition, according to early reports from the department and local officials. Authorities said a gun was recovered from the car. Police had not released the driver’s name by Sunday evening, and it was not immediately clear what charges prosecutors would approve. Reports from the scene said at least one other person may have been hurt, but police did not immediately confirm a full injury count beyond the officers. Investigators also had not said whether the driver meant to hit police or whether the crash began as a traffic violation, a crowd-control issue or another type of confrontation.
The gathering was described by officials and local reports as a large teen crowd or “teen takeover,” a term often used in Chicago for groups of young people who meet after social media posts or weekend events. Police responded with a large presence in the Roosevelt and Loomis area before 4 a.m. Sunday. The crowd formed during a holiday weekend that had already brought extra attention to public safety, large youth gatherings and overnight violence across the city. About 30 minutes after the officers were hit, police said a 19-year-old man was shot in the 1100 block of West Roosevelt Road. Police had not said whether that shooting was tied to the crowd dispersal or the crash.
The Near West Side area around Roosevelt Road includes residential buildings, schools, medical facilities and major traffic routes west of downtown. The crash site sits near the University of Illinois Chicago campus and close to neighborhoods that see heavy weekend traffic when the weather warms. City leaders have faced repeated pressure to manage large youth gatherings without turning routine crowd control into wider disorder. In recent weeks, Chicago police have responded to several incidents involving vehicles, crowds and officers. Those events have added to a larger debate over staffing, teen curfews, parental responsibility, arrests and how quickly police should move when groups gather late at night.
Police said the driver was taken into custody at the scene after the sedan stopped. The department said charges were pending, which means detectives were still gathering reports and presenting the case for review. Investigators were expected to examine police reports, officer statements, crash evidence, recovered property and any video from police cameras, nearby buildings or people at the gathering. The firearm recovered from the car was also expected to be checked as part of the investigation. As of Sunday night, officials had not released a full account of the driver’s route, the number of people in the vehicle or whether passengers were detained.
Ervin, whose ward includes the area, said the incident was unusual for the Brooks Homes community during the holiday weekend. His comments reflected concern from residents and officials who said the early morning gathering brought a sudden police response to a normally quieter residential area. Officers remained in the area after the crash as investigators documented the scene and worked to clear the crowd. Local video and witness accounts showed a large emergency response, with squad cars and officers near the intersection. Police did not report life-threatening injuries to the officers, but the crash left several members of the department hospitalized during one of the city’s busiest public safety weekends.
The case remained under investigation Sunday night. Police had not released the driver’s identity, a final list of charges or a confirmed link between the gathering, the crash and the later shooting on Roosevelt Road.
Author note: Last updated May 24, 2026.