RANCH TRIANGLE — Police have issued a community alert on bump-and-run car thefts near Old Town.
The Near North Police District put out a community alert late Monday night on three recent attempted car thefts. In all three cases, a car would bump into the vehicle in front of it and when the driver of the bumped car got out to assess the damage, the thieves would attempt to jump inside and drive off in the car they hit.
According to police, three such car thefts took place in recent weeks:
• At 2 p.m. June 9 on the 1800 block of North Clybourn Avenue.
• At 10 p.m. June 13 on the 1500 block of North Dayton Street.
• At 9 p.m. Thursday on the 100 block of East LaSalle Drive on the spur to Lake Shore Drive.
Police said in one of those incidents, "The offenders entered the victim's vehicle but were unsuccessful in stealing the vehicle."
Police identified the suspects as one to three African-American men, ages 19-29, and one African-American woman, 19-22.
Bump-and-run car thefts have become more common this spring, reported in the West Loop and Little Italy. The Bears' wide receiver Kevin White had a Maserati stolen last month when his girlfriend was left standing on the street in the West Loop.
Police ask that drivers turn their cars off and not leave the keys in the car in the case of such incidents. Report suspicious activity, and keep doors and windows locked. Get contact information for any witnesses, and turn over any available video footage of the incident.
Anyone with additional information on the car thefts should call the Bureau of Detectives in Area Central at 312-747-8382.
