Two men face multiple charges after a pair of hit-and-run crashes in a Chicago suburb left a 9-year-old boy seriously injured.
Police were informed about a crash in Green Oaks, as per LakeMcHenryScanner.com, occurring just before 5 p.m. on a Saturday, where a silver pickup truck had collided with a vehicle and then fled.
The 9-year-old boy suffered serious injuries in the crash and was taken to Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. He is expected to survive.
Further investigation revealed that the same truck was also engaged in a previous hit-and-run incident in Waukegan. The driver, identified as 29-year-old Paul Zawojski, fled the first crash and dangerously overtook another vehicle on the road. The passenger, identified as 31-year-old Chase Parthe, displayed a handgun and fired shots as they sped past, although it was uncertain if the shots were aimed.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office provided a description of the truck and the suspects. A Highland Park police officer spotted the vehicle, pulled it over, and detained Zawojski and Parthe until deputies arrived on the scene.
Deputies recovered a 9mm firearm and multiple narcotics inside the truck.
Parthe was charged with unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, reckless discharge of a firearm, and multiple drug charges. Zawojski faces drug and alcohol charges along with failure to report a crash causing injury and numerous traffic violations.
Both men made a first appearance Sunday morning and will appear for a detention hearing on Monday.
