Neighbors in Chicago's Belmont-Cragin neighborhood were jolted awake early Saturday following an incident in which a carjacking victim took matters into his hands.
At approximately 1:52 a.m., a 30-year-old man was sitting inside his 2014 Kia Sportage in 5100 block of West Montana when two men forced him out of the vehicle at gunpoint, authorities said.
After the suspects took his vehicle, the victim hopped into a minivan with two others and followed the Kia for nearly half a mile. Both vehicles then slammed into several parked cars before coming to a complete stop in the 2100 block of North Laramie, authorities stated.
The Kia suddenly erupted in flames, at which point the suspects jumped out of the car and then fled the scene.
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Some neighbors told NBC 5 they saw the chaotic situation unfold.
"We heard loud pounding, we came out, we saw two cars lit up right there, in flames," one resident said. We went back inside, we called 911."
A total of eight cars were destroyed, leaving glass, wreckage and debris all up and down the block.
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The three people in the van, including the victim, were taken to Stroger Hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries.
