HAMMOND, Ind. — An East Chicago man wanted on Lake County warrants was taken into custody Tuesday after a high-speed chase that started in Hammond and ended with a crash in Chicago, Indiana State Police said through CBS Chicago.
Key facts
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Suspect | Austin Earl Williams, 37, East Chicago |
| Date | Tuesday afternoon, Sept. 22, 2026 |
| Start | Calumet Avenue and Conkey Street, Hammond |
| End | Crash at 77th Street and East End Avenue, Chicago |
| Vehicle | 2018 Ford Taurus |
| Custody | Cook County Jail; held without bond pending extradition |
| Source | ISP via CBS Chicago |
How the chase started
ISP’s Lowell Post Criminal Investigations Bureau and SWAT members were trying to serve a high-risk felony arrest warrant on a Lake County resident when the chase began, CBS Chicago reported, citing state police.
Williams had active warrants in four Lake County cases covering violent felonies and misdemeanors, ISP said. The listed counts include:
- burglary
- robbery
- domestic battery
- strangulation
- criminal confinement
- residential entry
- interfering with reporting a crime
- resisting law enforcement
Those remain accusations. He has not been convicted in this reporting.
Pursuit into Illinois
Troopers used Flock cameras and other investigative tools to find Williams driving near Calumet Avenue and Conkey Street in Hammond and tried to stop him, ISP said.
He fled at high speed through Hammond, then into Illinois, according to the agency’s account relayed by CBS Chicago. The pursuit ended when Williams crashed at 77th Street and East End Avenue in Chicago.
He was taken into custody without further incident and booked into the Cook County Jail by Chicago police, ISP said.
What’s next
CBS Chicago, citing Indiana State Police, is the on-record source for the pursuit route, crash location, vehicle, and the Lake County warrant list summarized above.
He is held without bond pending an extradition hearing to return to Indiana. ISP said it will seek additional felony charges tied to Tuesday’s pursuit.
Region N3 will update when extradition clears or new charging documents are filed in Lake County.
Related reading
Photo credit
- Hero / traffic corridor — Region N3 stock gallery (illustrative)
- ALPR camera stock — Region N3 stock gallery (illustrative of investigative tech; not a scene photo)
- Photo: CBS Chicago — Image from original coverage of the Hammond-to-Chicago chase and arrest.