A 1-year-old boy has been safely reunited with his parents after the car he was in was stolen from a South Loop body shop on Wednesday.
According to an employee at the shop, located in the first block of East 23rd Street, a customer came in for a service estimate on their Audi Q7 vehicle on Wednesday afternoon at approximately 12:45 p.m.
Chatel Cole, a manager at the store, says she was outside working and saw the incident unfold. She saw another vehicle pull up alongside the Audi.
“I’m thinking they were together because of how he was pulling up on the side of him,” she said.
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The customer left the Audi unlocked and with a child inside, according to police.
A short time later, one of the occupants of the second vehicle was seen on surveillance video getting out and jumping in the front seat of the Audi. Both vehicles then sped away, with the customer chasing after the vehicle before it disappeared down Wabash.
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“He pulled up so we can get his information and everything, and it was two seconds,” she said. “He came inside so that we can come back outside to look at the damage, and when we were coming back outside he was pulling off in his car.”
According to authorities, the vehicle was later found near the intersection of Cermak and Indiana, approximately two blocks away from the shop, with the child still safely inside.
No suspects are in custody, and we will update this story with more details as they become available.
