SUV Crashes Into Store In Englewood, Manager Says TVs Stolen
CHICAGO (CBS) -- An SUV crashed through the front of a furniture store in the Englewood neighborhood Sunday night, and a store manager said several TVs were stolen afterward.
Police and witnesses said the driver of a 2002 Mitsubishi SUV hit two vehicles parked outside a Food 4 Less grocery store, crashed through a fence outside Chatham Furniture at 7001 S. Ashland Av, and then plowed through the glass storefront around 10:15 p.m.
The driver, a 36-year-old man, was issued traffic citations for failure to reduce speed to avoid a crash, driving on a revoked license, and driving without insurance.
Police said the incident was being investigated as a simple crash, but a man who identified himself as the manager of Chatham Furniture said people in the area flooded the store after the crash, and made off with several TVs.
"As soon as the car got in there, and there were people able to get in there, all of a sudden we just see a whole bunch of people – from what our neighbor was telling us – about 12, 13 or 20 TVs gone," Fred Batrouah said.
Police said they have no reason to believe the incident was a smash-and-grab situation, and could not confirm anything was stolen.
Batrouah said surveillance video shows strangers inside the store after the crash, but he said police have asked him not to show that video.
He said thieves have tried to break into the store before. A neighbor said the same thing.
"They broke the fence. They cut the iron bar down. Had I been out here to see them doing it, I would've called police," Willard Blanchard said.
Batrouah said several TVs that were in boxes behind the front window display were damaged. He also believes some TVs were stolen, but said he needs to do an inventory of the store.