It’s a risk thousands of Metra riders take every day: leaving their cars unattended in a parking lot while they’re at work. And as one woman discovered in Blue Island, those cars aren’t always safe.
Coming back from work at a downtown Chicago hotel, Amanda Miller was shocked as she stepped off the platform Thursday afternoon. Her Buick was missing its wheels. Not one or two, but all four – gone. Cinder blocks were left in replacement to hold the car up.
“The first thing in my mind was, ‘My God, how am I going to go to work? I’m going to lose my job.’” Miller said.
Thieves made off with each entire wheel, including the factory rims and tires.
For a second, Miller says, she thought it was a practical joke. But she quickly realized the situation was serious, and soon found out that surveillance cameras didn’t even capture a thing.
“I was really upset,” Miller said. “I was crying and I thought, ‘Who would do this to me?’”
Consoled by a conductor, she called Metra police. They re-directed her to Blue Island police as the city owns the lot.
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“They first called a tow truck out here but they couldn’t get it up without any wheels and they didn’t have the special type of dolly they needed,” she said.
Signs posted in the lot may have you believe the area is under surveillance, but police say the cameras only point at the tracks behind the fence.
Now knowing that, Miller says she is concerned for the safety of the many women who travel daily in and out of the lot early in the morning and late at night.
Blue Island officers were not available to speak to NBC Chicago Friday, but police say they plan on stepping up patrols in the lot.
A Metra spokesperson said there was a similar incident reported at the Burr Oak’s stop last month, but doesn’t believe it’s connected to Thursday’s theft.
Miller says when she gets new tires she will continue to take the train, but hopes cameras will be installed.
“At least I have insurance to be able to get the tires back on there,” she said. “Things could be worse.”
