Man carjacked vehicle in the Loop, crashed it on Kennedy Expressway, prosecutors say

Forrest Wagner (Cook County Sheriff’s Office)

CHICAGO — A suburban man is charged with carjacking a vehicle in the Loop and then crashing it on the Kennedy Expressway this week.

According to police and prosecutors, a 31-year-old woman was waiting in the passenger seat of a car in the first block of North State while her companion stepped inside a nearby restaurant on Tuesday afternoon.

A man looked into the 2015 Dodge Dart and climbed behind the wheel. When the woman tried to get out, he pulled her hair and grabbed her to keep her from getting away, prosecutors said in a detention petition. She managed to break free when he released his grip to put on his seat belt, according to a CPD report.

The car’s owner, a 30-year-old man, returned while the carjacking was in progress. He tried to get the hijacker out, but the thief hit him and drove away with the car.

A short time later, an off-duty police officer saw the hijacked car strike several vehicles on the outbound Kennedy Expressway between Diversey and Kedzie, a CPD report said. The car’s driver got out and walked toward Diversey after the crash, and the officer followed him until an on-duty officer arrived. 

The on- and off-duty cops arrested Forrest Wagner, 29, of Galena, as he entered Al’s Beef, 2804 North Western, just after 3 p.m., according to the police report. 

Wagner was subsequently identified as the hijacker, according to prosecutors. He is charged with two counts of vehicular hijacking, two counts of vehicular invasion, two counts of aggravated battery in a public place, and traffic-related matters. Judge David Kelly granted the state’s detention petition.

Original reporting you’ll see nowhere else, paid for by our readers. Click here to support our work.