Woman’s vehicle carjacked with 2-year-old inside

LIBERTYVILLE – A Libertyville mother was seriously injured when she was carjacked in her driveway and her vehicle was taken with her 2-year-old son inside, police said.

The child was found safe, but police continue to search for the thieves.

About 3:35 p.m. Feb. 23, Lake County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a residence in the 16000 block of Route 137, near Libertyville, for a vehicular hijacking with a 2-year-old child still inside the vehicle.

Preliminary investigation shows the 34-year-old victim had just returned to her residence. She pulled into her driveway and brought one of her children inside. She came back to her car to retrieve her 2-year-old son when a white BMW (2000s model, black bumper and loud exhaust) pulled into her driveway behind her 2021 Volkswagen Atlas, police said in a news release.

A man described as being tall and thin and wearing a gray zip-up hooded sweatshirt and a light green facemask exited the passenger side of the BMW and struggled to get into the victim’s Volkswagen as she tried to keep her son safe.

The offender battered the woman, knocking her to the ground and then stole her car with the child inside. He and the driver of the BMW fled from the scene. One of the drivers ran the woman over as they fled, causing serious injuries. The woman was still able to call 911.

A short time later, a person working at a business in the 2200 block of Lakeside Drive in Waukegan called 911 to report they just saw two vehicles enter the parking lot and the driver of one of the cars abandoned a small child.

While searching for the stolen vehicle and endangered child, sheriff’s detectives immediately called Volkswagen Car-Net to track the vehicle. Unfortunately, there was a delay as Volkswagen Car-Net would not track the vehicle with the abducted child until they received payment to reactivate the tracking device in the stolen Volkswagen.

Sheriff’s deputies located the stolen Volkswagen in a parking lot near Casmir Pulaski and Route 43, police said.

The woman who was battered and run over was taken to an area hospital in serious, but stable condition, police said.

Sheriff’s detectives continue to look for the BMW. The BMW was stolen in the past week from a car dealership in Waukegan.

If you see the stolen BMW or have any information about the incident, call the Lake County Sheriff’s Criminal Investigations Division at 847-377-4000 or contact Lake County CrimeStoppers at www.lakecountycrimestoppers.org