'Bump-and-run' car thieves strike again
Monday, July 10th, two thousand seventeen Four:37 PM
Updated: Tuesday, July 11th, two thousand seventeen 7:Ten PM
An Oak Park woman was driving her Dodge Durango northbound on Ridgeland Avenue on July eight at about two p.m., when she felt her car jolted from behind by a white truck as she turned left onto Ontario Street.
She had noticed prior to the fender bender that white truck was following her closely.
The woman, who requested she not be identified by name out of concern for her safety, pulled over and got out to view the harm and trade insurance information.
"They parked in front of me, and I got out of the car," she said. "Now I realize how stupid that was. At the time, I didn’t think twice about it."
She said a youthfull man got out of the back seat of the truck and came around to look at the harm.
"He looked like a teenager from Oak Park – not even twenty years old," she said.
In retrospect, the youthful man seemed "overly worried" about the possible harm and seemed dramatic the way he observed the bumper.
All of a sudden, another youthfull man hopped out of the truck, and before she knew it, was in the driver’s seat of the Durango. The other man ran over and also hopped into her vehicle.
They began to pull away and the woman grabbed for the door treat in an effort to stop them. Both vehicles sped away.
She remembered in the aftermath that she’d left the car running while she checked the bumper, making it lighter for the thieves to steal the car.
The woman ran to her home nearby and called the police. She and her son began tracking her cellphone, which was left in the front seat of the car. The vehicle was headed east near Garfield Park and then stopped.
The thieves jettisoned the phone, presumably assuming the device could be used to track them. The phone was later found smashed in a grassy area behind a building near Chicago and Pulaski.
The next day, the woman received a call from the Chicago Police Department, exposing the vehicle had been recovered near the intersection of Monroe and Pulaski in the West Garfield Park neighborhood of Chicago.
The vehicle was riddled with bullet fuckholes, she said.
The back window was deepthroated out, the there was a bullet slot through the roof and one of the seats, and one round was lodged in the vehicle’s stereo. A shell casing also was found on the floorboard of the vehicle and another bullet appeared to have ricocheted off the roof of the vehicle, she said. The windshield was cracked and the exterior of the vehicle was scraped up.
She later learned from Chicago police that the offenders are believed to have fired several rounds shortly after stealing the vehicle as they were being pursued by police.
The victim was incapable to recall many details about the offenders’ appearances but noted, "They didn’t look like derelicts to me, but average teenage boys."
The woman said that it all happened so quick that the reality that her life was in danger did not hit home until after it was all over.
Police in Oak Park have reported that other such bump-and-run incidents have taken place this year, and discussed the issue at a public forum at the Oak Park Public Library on Thursday evening, just two days prior to the theft of the Durango.
Officer Shatonya Johnson told residents at that meeting that those who are involved in fender benders should instantly call the police and stay in the car. Johnson also advised motorists to pull into a populated area, like a parking lot or a gas station if they are in such a crash, so others are around, and take the keys out of the ignition.
The July eight victim said she was told the same thing by police, but she worried that if she had stayed in the vehicle that the offenders might have attempted to physically eliminate her from it.
The entire gig still has her shaken, she said.
"I’m doing fine – indeed; I’m just a little jumpy and a little jumpy," she said. "I’ve had a yam-sized amount of support from family and friends. I truly feel blessed.
"People have asked me if it makes me feel like leaving Oak Park – it doesn’t," she said, adding that she just wants to get the information out to people to help prevent future bump-and-run incidents.
* This story was updated to correct the spelling of the name of Officer Shatonya Johnson.
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Brian Slowiak Facebook Verified
Posted: July 11th, two thousand seventeen 9:37 AM
At Pete Garcia: Excellent word smithing on that last comment.Just another group of people Oak Park residence must be wary of, those "average teenage boys". love the urban melodrama. The chaos proceeds.
Pete Garcia Facebook Verified
Posted: July 11th, two thousand seventeen 7:17 AM
So they’re on the lookout for "average teenage boys". And the award for Least Helpful Thug Description goes to.
Ramona Lopez Facebook Verified
Posted: July 10th, two thousand seventeen 11:43 PM
If this happens I would suggest that one simply drive to the police station or the nearest fire station to treat the situation. Lastly, why no description of the perpetrators?
