Car thieves took a food delivery driver’s idling car in Old Town, then crashed into a nearby sidewalk cafe, injuring six people on Friday night. The offenders got away.
The delivery driver, a 26-year-old man from Cicero, reportedly left his silver Lexus sedan running and unattended while making a delivery in the 1300 block of North Wells around 10:30 p.m. Two people jumped into his car and sped away southbound.
Police said the car thief tried to pass another vehicle in the 1200 block of North Wells, but he clipped the other car, lost control, and crashed into a restaurant’s patio, which was filled with patrons and servers enjoying a warm Friday night.
The victims were outside Uproar, 1252 North Wells, when the stolen car jumped the curb and slammed into the restaurant’s outdoor dining area and the adjacent sidewalk.
“Please pray for the 6 people taken to the hospital [includng] 2 of our dedicated staff,” said Dante Deiana, a partner in Uproar’s management group, on Twitter. “Of course the two who stole and crashed this car fled. Didn’t check on the bodies strewn about or the one pinned under the car.”
EMS transported two women, ages 24 and 26, to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in fair condition with broken legs, police said. The other three victims were taken to St. Mary’s Hospital in good condition; a 26-year-old man with bruises to his back, a 32-year-old man with a cut to his elbow, and a 26-year-old woman with a foot injury. A sixth person declined medical attention.
“Huge thank you to the Chicago Fire Department and Chicago Police Department who were both on site within minutes and treating the victims. We’re so lucky for these people,” Deiana said.
Surveillance video shows two slender Black males wearing black hoodies and jeans running from the Lexus and heading west on Goethe Street. The video shows one hoodie had white writing across the front while the other had a white design, according to officers at the scene.