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NEW LENOX, IL — A New Lenox woman is warning others to be vigilant, after her son’s car was stolen from in front of their home in just a matter of minutes.
Aimie Siwinski said they were awakened around 1:30 a.m. Wednesday to New Lenox police at their front door. A car had been involved in a high-speed chase in Chicago Heights, and police tracked the registration to her 19-year-old son. Her son, though, had gone to sleep with the white Infiniti Q50 parked in front of the house in the 2400 block of Bluestone Bay Drive, with the keys in his possession.
The car, Siwinski said, had been stolen some time after they had gone to bed; video footage would show the theft beginning at 11:41 p.m.
One neighbor’s camera captured what appeared to be a Nissan Altima pull up near her son’s car. Two or three suspects got out, and within minutes, had broken into the car through the sunroof, Siwinski said. Then, just as quickly, it appeared they used a computer to fabricate a key fob to be used on the push start ignition.
“Then you see the car start, and they pull away,” Siwinski said.
The car was later involved in a chase with speeds exceeding 125 mph, she said, at which point Chicago Heights Police stopped pursuit and contacted New Lenox police. The arrival of New Lenox police at their door alerted Siwinski and her son to the theft.
“They realized it was stolen when everyone was home,” Siwinski said.
Then, at approximately 3:08 a.m., the Matteson Police Department located the vehicle unoccupied in the 4200 block of Lindenwood Drive. The vehicle was secured and towed to the New Lenox Police Department for further investigation, according to police reports.
The car is heavily damaged on the interior, Siwinski said. Door handles had been used as ashtrays. Fabric on the interior car roof had been torn down. The seats had been walked all over. Glass shattered. An alcohol bottle was also found in the car.
“They smashed it all up, completely trashed it,” Siwinksi said.
The car had just recently been purchased, she said.
Siwinksi said that while she is typically a private person, she wants people to grasp how quickly something like the theft can happen.
“It’s so upsetting,” she said. “I feel sick. It’s just so crazy that this just happened.”
The theft remains under review for assignment or closure, according to police reports.
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