Police: Man Kills Daughter's Stepdad Before Police Chase, Suicide On I-57

(STMW) -- A man killed his daughter's stepfather in southwest suburban Bridgeview Thursday afternoon, then led police on a high-speed chase that ended when he committed suicide on I-57, police said.

Officers responding to a call of shots fired at 1:54 p.m. at a home in the 7400 block of Beloit Avenue found 40-year-old Santiago Garcia Mendoza lying unresponsive in the driveway with multiple gunshot wounds, Bridgeview Police Chief Walter Klimek said.

Witnesses told investigators they saw two men arguing in the driveway, then one man shot the other several times before speeding away in a dark-colored SUV, Klimek said.

An officer nearby saw a vehicle matching the description driving southbound on Harlem Avenue near 77th Street, but the SUV wouldn't stop, Klimek said.

With police pursuing, the SUV got onto southbound I-294, Klimek said. At this point, Bridgeview police were being assisted by officers from Burbank and Hickory Hills, and troopers from the Illinois State Police.

The SUV merged from southbound I-294 to southbound I-57, Klimek said. Then, the driver made a U-turn in the median exit for emergency vehicles, and headed northbound on I-57.

Just north of Peotone Road in Peotone, a Bridgeview police officer conducted a maneuver with a squad car and struck the SUV, causing it to lose control and drive onto the grassy area to the left of the expressway, Klimek said.

While officers were approaching the SUV, they heard a single gunshot, he said.

The driver, 43-year-old Sergio Ramirez Abeja of the 6000 block of 76th Avenue in Summit, had committed suicide, Klimek said, adding that Ramirez Abeja had a valid concealed carry permit.

Klimek said Ramirez Abeja was the biological father of a woman who was in the house at the time of the shooting, who heard the shots, but did not see the incident. Garcia Mendoza, who lived in the home in the 7400 block of Beloit, was the woman's stepfather.

All lanes of I-57 in both directions remained closed near Peotone Road as of 5:15 p.m., according to Illinois State Police.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2016. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)