A food delivery driver tried to pull a carjacker out of his vehicle in the South Loop on Monday evening, but the struggle caused the hijacker to swerve into a parked car and crash into a gas line, police said. Then, he got away.
The victim left his BMW double-parked and running as he made a delivery on the 1300 block of South Michigan around 8:30 p.m., according to a CPD traffic crash report. When he came back out of the building, he saw someone in the driver’s seat of his car.
According to the report, the driver ran to his vehicle, opened the driver’s door, and tried to pull the offender out of the driver’s seat. But the thief fought back, transforming the crime from simple auto theft to vehicular hijacking.
The victim grabbed onto the steering wheel at one point while the carjacker hit the accelerator, causing the BMW to spin around in the middle of Michigan Avenue, the report said. The car stopped. The fight continued. And then the hijacker hit the accelerator again.
The BMW slammed into a parked Jeep Liberty, crossed the sidewalk, and crashed into a natural gas pipe, the CPD report continued. Police said the hijacker got out of the BMW and escaped in a black sedan that was waiting on Michigan Avenue.
People’s Gas secured the gas line. No injuries were reported.
It’s been an interesting week on that stretch of Michigan Avenue. CPD issued a community alert over the weekend after a mugger robbed three people last week on the 1200, 1300, and 1500 blocks of South Michigan.
Area Three detectives said the offender shoves victims to the ground on streets or sidewalks during afternoon hours, takes their phones, then escapes in a car that is waiting for him.
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