Police Investigating Series Of South Side Car Fires
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Several car owners woke to a disturbing sight this morning: their cars engulfed in flames. Most of them within blocks of each other in the Englewood and Marquette Park neighborhoods.
CBS 2's Derrick Blakley reports around 6:30 a.m., Othia McDade heard the long, loud wail of a car horn and when she finally went the window, she saw her SUV on fire.
"So I told my sister to call the fire department, so she called and I came downstairs but I couldn't come out because it was so much smoke," she said.
So much smoke, so much damage, for no good reason, and she wasn't alone.
"As I was talking to the police officer there was another car right down he street on 71st Street that was on fire," said Mcdade.
In all, 14 cars damaged in locations scattered around Marquette Park and Englewood, all between 4:30 am and 7 this morning.
Police told McDade the arsonists seemed to have targeted vehicles left unlocked, but she couldn't find any reasonable motivation for such random destruction.
"It's senseless acts. Senseless acts. That's what I think. It was just senseless," said McDade.
McDade says she is just glad that she and her children weren't near the vehicle.
Chicago Police bomb and arson unit is investigating.
