A police chase that began near the Shoppes at Grand Prairie in northwest Peoria ended on campus early Tuesday morning.
Peoria police were first called about 12:30 a.m. to the Buffalo Wild Wings near that mall.
An employee of the restaurant went behind the business to throw out trash. Two men armed with handguns approached him, tied him up and robbed him of his cell phone and wallet, according to Peoria police.
A second employee also went to take out garbage and and a stun gun placed against her arm. The men then activated the stun gun, and the woman’s screams alerted those inside the restaurant. The two men then fled in a car.
Police located that car just before 1 a.m. near the intersection of War Memorial Drive and University Street and pursued it south on University. A few moments later, Peoria police were notified by University Police that the car wasn’t able to manage the curve just north of St. James Street.
The car exited the roadway, crashed through the black perimeter fence and traveled through the grass before skidding across St. James and coming to a stop in the bushes near the stone wall next to the Caterpillar Global Communications Center.
No buildings were hit by the car.
The car’s passenger, Nicholas J. Humes, 22, was arrested after the crash and taken to OSF Saint Francis Medical Center. The driver fled on foot.
Once it was realized the driver was on foot in the area, BUPD sent a ForeWarn text message alerting students that the campus had been placed on lockdown, University Police Chief Dave Baer said.
After a lengthy police K-9 search through campus, officers determined the suspect was no longer in the area, and about 3:30 a.m. the lock down was lifted.
The female Buffalo Wild Wings employee was treated by paramedics at the scene, but was not taken to the hospital.
