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WATCH HIT AND RUN: SUV Determined to Leave Scene Crunches Four Other Cars

By Serena Dai | November 6, 2013 12:02pm | Updated on November 6, 2013 12:04pm
Belmont Hit and Run
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YouTube/Fine Woodworking

LAKEVIEW — Apparently there's no stopping a driver determined to run in a hit-and-run.

A video circulating online depicts a cab driver trying to stop a black SUV from leaving the 1400 block of West Belmont after it rear-ended him. But the SUV driver was determined to leave.

The cabbie jumped in front of the SUV, motioned for other cars to block the SUV and even started beating at the SUV's driver-side window.

But the SUV backed up and sped west — ultimately crashing into four other cars and leaving glass from broken headlights on the street in its attempt to run, the video shows. 

The action in the video picks up after the 1:20 mark.

Police with the Town Hall Police District told DNAinfo Chicago that the incident happened Oct. 30 at 4:14 p.m. The SUV was stolen and its driver is now in custody for the five-car accident, police said.

The president of the cab company City Service, Cometas Dilanjian, told DNAinfo Chicago the cab driver told him the SUV refused to stop and give information. 

The SUV caused more than $3,000 worth of damage to the cab alone, Dilanjian said. The driver also has to pay a $500 insurance deductible and is missing at least a week's worth of work due to the damage, Dilanjian said.

It's been rough on the driver, Dilanjian said, but the driver remains with the company, though he will be disciplined for confronting the SUV driver.

"There's no reason why things like this should escalate," Dilanjian said. "That's how people get hurt."