Stolen SUV plows into storefront in Chicago's West Town community
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A stolen car slammed into a building in the West Town neighborhood Thursday afternoon, leaving a big mess to clean up.
The Jeep Laredo sport-utility vehicle was turning onto northbound Ashland Avenue near Cortez Street when it plowed into the storefront at 1037 N. Ashland Ave.—one of three storefronts in the building right next to El Barco Mariscos Restaurant.
No one was hurt, but the building appeared to have sustained significant structural damage. The SUV was lodged all the way inside the building, with the mangled Venetian blinds hanging on top and alongside and bricks from the front in a pile underneath. The burglar bars on the front door were bent.
The driver who hit the building ran off and was long gone by the time police arrived. There were no injuries reported, police said.
Police subsequently learned the SUV had been stolen.
The building the SUV struck is made up of three storefronts—carrying the addresses 1037, 1037 1/2, and 1039 N. Ashland Ave. It is not clear what the three storefronts house—as video or photos of each taken over several years invariably shows them all with blinds drawn and burglar bars on the doors. The middle storefront has a U.S. flag and a National League of Families POW-MIA flag in the window.
The building also houses apartments on the second story.
