CHICAGO — A lady was struck by her personal automobile when a carjacker jumped behind the wheel as she crammed it with gasoline in Lakeview yesterday afternoon, Chicago police say. The incident, which adopted a wave of violent hijackings within the space Tuesday night time, comes as the town is starting to see year-over-year will increase in carjacking studies.
The 48-year-old girl was fueling her 2019 Mercedes at BP, 4070 North Clark, when a person exited a close-by SUV and climbed into her automobile round 1:43 p.m. He drove away along with her automobile, putting her as he headed off the lot. EMS took the 48-year-old girl to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Middle in good situation, based on CPD.
Police mentioned the hijacker arrived in a white SUV, presumably a BMW, that was pushed by an confederate. CPD didn’t launch an outline of the offender.
Chicago has been experiencing a modest however constant decline in month-to-month carjacking studies since setting a file excessive in 2021. Nonetheless, the 1,115 instances seen this yr as of November 7 stay 126% increased than in 2019.
Hijacking studies started to subside because the “Kia boy” phenomenon, wherein auto thieves use USB plugs to steal some Kia and Hyundai fashions, took root in the summertime of 2022.
Nonetheless, the town’s crime information exhibits carjacking studies elevated in October in comparison with October 2022, the primary month-to-month hijacking enhance this yr. The primary week of this month additionally outpaced the primary week of final November.
It’s too quickly to say if the town has merely hit a bump within the street or if hijackings are making a comeback as Kia and Hyundai deploy software program updates that supposedly repair the design flaw thieves have been exploiting.