Two Teen Carjackers Crash Stolen Car In Washington Park During Police Chase
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Two teenage boys were in custody Tuesday morning, after stealing a car at gunpoint and then crashing while fleeing police on the South Side.
Reginald Lark, 45, said he was trying to get his car started it broke down near 31st and King Drive around 2:30 a.m., when a teenager walked up and started banging on his window.
"Immediately after I put my phone down to the side of me, I get 'boom, boom, boom, boom, boom,' and I look, and I'm like, 'I'm not in the mood. I don't have any change. I can't help you,' whatever the case; and at that point, I looked again, he hit the window again, it was a gun in his hand," he said.
Lark, a CTA bus driver, said he thought about grabbing the teenager, but thought better of it when he saw a second gun-toting teen approach.
"Everything stops when you see another person with a gun. I mean, I'm not Superman," he said.
The two boys demanded his car, and even made Lark take off his shoes before driving away. Police spotted them a short time later.
"I guess being teenagers, and being stupid, they didn't realize they were driving with no lights. So that's how they were apprehended," Lark said.
First, the teens led police on a high-speed chase. Illinois State Police joined Chicago cops in the pursuit. Around 3 a.m., the carjackers slammed into the back of a UPS double trailer truck near 63rd and Prairie.
The force of the collision was so intense, the stolen car lifted the rear trailer off its left tires.
The 14-year-old passenger was pinned inside the car. The 16-year-old driver took off running, but was quickly caught when a state trooper shot him with a stun gun.
Lark said he's glad he thought twice about grabbing the first boy, because he might have been killed.
"That's probably the reason why I didn't. You know, at this point, if I didn't have my children, I probably would've grabbed him," he said. "If you have something that you value, other than material things, then you comply. You don't resist, you don't hesitate, you do what's necessary for you to go home to your children and everybody else."
The boys were taken to Comer Children's Hospital, where they were treated and released.
The UPS driver was treated at the scene, and declined to be taken to the hospital. A state trooper involved in the chase suffered a cut to his hand, but also refused to go to the hospital.
UPS officials said the driver was able to drive the truck after the crash, and did not require further medical attention.
Police said charges were pending against the two teens Tuesday morning.