An ironworker from Joliet has heard stories about people being carjacked in Chicago before, but he never imagined he'd be a witness to one on a Friday morning on the Dan Ryan Expressway.
"I wish that guy was off the streets, seeing how he could have hurt somebody really bad, if he hasn't already," the witness, who asked not to be named, told NBC Chicago.
The man said he was driving home from work last Friday morning when he noticed a crash in the southbound lanes of the expressway and people bailing from the vehicle.
While he initially thought the people leaving the vehicle may have been hurt or were checking on the other car, he quickly learned that was not the case, comparing the scene to "real life Grand Theft Auto."
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The man kept recording and witnessed a man dressed in black with a black ski mask with what appeared to be a gun in his waistband. According to the witness, he kept walking back and forth down the lanes, and eventually asked the witness to give him a ride, offering him money.
"The amount of money he had on him was at least 10-20,000 dollars," the witness told NBC 5.
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According to the witness, the man then tried to carjack passing vehicles, eventually fleeing the scene in a red SUV that was stopped due to the crash ahead.
"I mean, he didn't pull his gun out, but the gentleman froze. He kind of fell out of the car with the car still in drive," the witness said.
Video of the incident has gone viral, with many asking the bystander why he didn't intervene in the chaotic scene.
While the witness said he thought about it, he believed it could have turned deadly.
"I’m glad no one really did get in his way, because who knows what could have happened?"
According to the Illinois State Police, the red SUV was found abandoned hours later. The car involved in the initial crash was stolen, police said. No one has been arrested and no one was hurt.
The witness interviewed, who does not wish to be named, called 911 and sent his footage to police.
