Two young girls were uninjured Thursday morning after a man stole the SUV they were seated in and crashed it about a mile later on the Northwest Side.
According to Chicago police, the incident began just after 5 a.m. in the 5600 block of North Sacramento Avenue.
A woman driving a Jeep Liberty pulled over and exited the vehicle while it was still running to make a delivery, police said. As that was happening, a black sedan police believe may have been a Dodge Charger pulled up behind the Jeep and a man exited the passenger side.
He then got into the Jeep, which had two girls ages 10 and 12 inside, and drove off. Police said the man crashed the SUV several minutes later in the 6300 block of North McCormick Boulevard — which is about a mile away — and fled on foot.
According to police, both girls were located safely and the vehicle was recovered. No one was injured in the incident, and no one is currently in custody.
As of Sunday, there had already been at least 573 motor vehicle thefts in the city in 2022, according to police data. That’s up 35% over the same time period last year.
Contact Matt Masterson: @ByMattMasterson | [email protected] | (773) 509-5431