COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — A car salesman, held prisoner during a test drive that turned criminal, made his escape by jumping out of the car Sunday, authorities say.
The 31-year-old car salesman from World Discount Auto, 1449 N. Cicero Ave., was riding along in a 2007 Dodge Charger with a prospective buyer when the man behind the wheel drove outside the "test drive boundaries," according to court documents.
The driver refused the salesman's repeated pleas to return to the dealership and let him out, telling the car salesman to "Shut the f--- up," prosecutors said.
Fearing for his life, the car salesman jumped from the car near Division Street and Lamon Avenue in the South Austin neighborhood, authorities said.
Kendall Jackson, 18, is charged with possessing a stolen motor vehicle, unlawful restraint and driving without a license. He told police he took the car for a "joyride to show off to [his] friends," according to court documents.
A Cook County judge set Jackson's bond at $75,000 Tuesday.
The manager of World Discount Auto, who declined to give his name, could only recall one time, "a few years ago," when someone asked to test drive a car and took off with it. That driver was found in Georgia, he said Tuesday.
The car salesman was "shaken up" but uninjured, the manager said.
