CHICAGO — A woman was struck by her own car when a carjacker jumped behind the wheel as she filled it with gas in Lakeview yesterday afternoon, Chicago police say. The incident, which followed a wave of violent hijackings in the area Tuesday night, comes as the city is beginning to see year-over-year increases in carjacking reports.
The 48-year-old woman was fueling her 2019 Mercedes at BP, 4070 North Clark, when a man exited a nearby SUV and climbed into her vehicle around 1:43 p.m. He drove away with her car, striking her as he headed off the lot. EMS took the 48-year-old woman to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center in good condition, according to CPD.
Police said the hijacker arrived in a white SUV, possibly a BMW, that was driven by an accomplice. CPD did not release a description of the offender.
Chicago has been experiencing a modest but consistent decline in monthly carjacking reports since setting a record high in 2021. Still, the 1,115 cases seen this year as of November 7 remain 126% higher than in 2019.
Hijacking reports began to subside as the “Kia boy” phenomenon, in which auto thieves use USB plugs to steal some Kia and Hyundai models, took root in the summer of 2022.
However, the city’s crime data shows carjacking reports increased in October compared to October 2022, the first month-to-month hijacking increase this year. The first week of this month also outpaced the first week of last November.
It’s too soon to say if the city has merely hit a bump in the road or if hijackings are making a comeback as Kia and Hyundai deploy software updates that supposedly fix the design flaw thieves have been exploiting.
