Carjackers knocked a pregnant woman to the ground and drove off in her SUV with her 2-year-old son still inside, running over her as they fled her home in unincorporated Libertyville Thursday, authorities said.
A short time later, a worker at a business Waukegan called 911 and said two cars had just pulled into a parking lot and dropped off the boy, then sped off, according to the Lake County sheriff’s office.
“The 911 caller at the business rescued the child from the parking lot before the child wandered onto the busy roadway,” the sheriff’s office said.
The boy appeared unharmed and his mother was taken to a hospital in serious condition, the sheriff’s office said. She is six months pregnant.
No one was in custody.
The attack occurred around 3:35 p.m. at a home in the 16000 block of Route 137, the sheriff’s office said. The woman, 34, had just pulled into the driveway of her home and brought one of her children into the house, the office said. She came back to get her 2-year-old son when a white BMW stopped in the driveway.
A man got out of the passenger side and struggled with the woman as he tried to get into the her SUV, the sheriff’s office said. The man knocked her to the ground and drove off in the SUV as the BMW followed.
“One of the drivers ran her over as they fled, causing serious injuries to her extremities,” the office said. “The victim was still able to call 911.”
Sheriff’s deputies later found the stolen SUV in a parking lot near Pulaski and Route 43. They continued to search for the BMW, described as white with a black black bumper and a loud exhaust. It was stolen in the last week from a dealership in Waukegan.
The man who stole the SUV was described as tall and thin, wearing a gray zip-up sweatshirt and a light green face mask.
Anyone with information can call the Lake County sheriff’s criminal investigations division at 847-377-4000 or contact Lake County CrimeStoppers at: www.lakecountycrimestoppers.org.
