CHICAGO — Police are trying to track the cell phone of a student from China who was charged $4,240 for a ride from O'Hare Airport to downstate Champaign, authorities said Tuesday.
The 18-year-old University of Illinois student left his $650 cell phone in the dark-colored SUV that offered him a ride at O'Hare Airport Aug. 20, said Sgt. Joan Fiesta, of University of Illinois Campus Police, Tuesday.
The driver initially said the trip would cost $1,000 but then demanded $4,800 when the trip ended in Champaign. The student, who had a limited command of English, gave the driver all he had, according to The News-Gazette.
The driver was described as a white male, standing about 5-foot-9, with a medium build and light, short hair in The News-Gazette.
Keeping an eye out for the dark-colored SUV, however, might be a lost cause, Fiesta said.
"There's nothing really even to look for," she said, as the car was a rental.
A website designed to book taxi rides estimates the 150-mile trip from O'Hare to Champaign would cost $289.
