Carjackings reported in Downers Grove, Warrenville
Downers Grove police are searching for two armed men who forced a woman out of her car at gunpoint Friday afternoon, sparking a bizarre series of events that found them abandoning her vehicle in Woodridge and then escaping in another stolen vehicle.
Police said they responded at 2:20 p.m. to a report of a carjacking on the 1700 block of Hawkins Avenue.
They said two armed men pulled up in a silver Honda Pilot and approached the woman in her white 2017 Kia Sportage while she was parked in her driveway. The men ordered the woman out of the car and she surrendered the vehicle without a struggle.
As the men drove away in her vehicle, it appears someone the woman knows began to follow the stolen car. The investigation is still ongoing, but police said it appears the thieves abandoned the Kia near 75th Street and Route 53 in Woodridge and began to flee on foot. The driver who was following them apparently got out of his vehicle to chase them, at which time the men returned and stole his idling vehicle, a black Dodge Charger with Illinois license plate Q501335.
One of the carjackers is described as a black man in his early 20s, standing about 5 feet 7 inches tall with a thin build and wearing a dark blue hooded sweatshirt and dark jeans. The second carjacker is a black man in his early 20s with a thin build and wearing all dark clothing. Both carjackers were wearing black hats.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to call Downers Grove police at (630) 434-5600 or Woodridge police at (630) 960-8998.
Meanwhile, less than 20 minutes before the carjacking in Downers Grove, Warrenville police responded at 2:06 p.m. to the 29W500 block of Country Ridge Drive to investigate an armed robbery.
The victim reported being followed home from a business by someone driving a gray Honda Pilot. When the victim parked in front of their residence, two armed men approached and took the victim's car keys and wallet.
One man then fled southbound in the victim's vehicle, a white 2012 Chevrolet Malibu. Two other men followed in the Honda Pilot.
The two offenders who approached the victim were described as black men wearing ski masks and dressed in dark-colored clothing. Each displayed a dark-colored handgun.
The victim's vehicle is described as a white 2012 Chevrolet Malibu and has not been recovered.
Anyone with information about the crime is asked to call Warrenville police at (630) 393-2131.
Police said they are not yet certain if the two cases are related.