Belmont Cragin Carjacking Leads To Fiery Crash, Multiple Other Parked Cars Struck
CHICAGO (CBS) — A carjacking overnight in Belmont Cragin ended in a fiery crash in Hanson Park, after the victim tried to chase the carjackers.
CBS 2's Tim McNicholas has details on the dangerous and frightening chain of events.
"We just heard that big, like, crash," said 14-year-old Jacqueline, who woke up around 2 a.m. Saturday and saw a car on fire in front of her house in the morning and saw a car on fire in front of her house in the 2200 block of North Laramie Avenue.
Her mom took video after carjackers crashed a stolen vehicle into several parked cars on the block.
McNicholas: "How did that make you feel?"
Jacqueline: "Kinda scared. It was just, like, right outside your house."
A neighbor took this video of the fiery aftermath of a crash overnight in Belmont Cragin. Police say a carjacking victim got into another vehicle and tried to chase after the suspect, leading to the crash. @cbschicago pic.twitter.com/dYEySm9Kvf
— Tim McNicholas (@TimMcNicholas) October 23, 2021
Police said two men with a gun forced a 30-year-old man out of his car overnight in the 5100 block of West Montana Street. The victim then got into another car and chased the carjackers for half a mile.
The chase ended with multiple crashes on the 2200 block of North Laramie Avenue. Police said both the victim and the carjackers crashed into parked cars on that block.
"All these cars were damaged. Thankfully, our car wasn't damaged. It was scary," Jacqueline said. "What makes it more sad is that some of the cars don't have insurance."
Police said the carjacking victim's 2014 KIA Sportage caught fire after the crash.
The carjackers ran off after the crash, and were not in custody Saturday afternoon
The carjacking victim and two others in the car with him went to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
Area Five detectives were investigating.