A teenage boxer battling an immune system disorder is fighting to get back his stolen car, which had his medication and boxing gloves in it when he was carjacked just outside his gym in broad daylight over the weekend.
Police said 19-year-old Joe Maloney was driving just before 1 p.m. Saturday in the 2600 block of West 35th Street in Chicago’s Brighton Park neighborhood when another vehicle rear-ended his car.
While the teen was trying to exchange information with the driver, both the driver and a male passenger pulled out handguns and fled in Maloney’s 2005 Lincoln.
“My medicine was in the car along with my gloves, my bag,” Maloney said. “I had a few dollars in the car too.”
It was a punch to the gut for Maloney, an amateur boxer who dreams of turning pro. He made it to the quarterfinals of last year’s Golden Glove tournament.
The 19-year-old from Oak Lawn began boxing when he was 12 but was diagnosed with mast cell activation in 2014, a condition that spikes his blood pressure and causes blood clots. In January, Maloney suffered from a stroke, putting him in the hospital for two weeks and sidelining him from boxing for three months.
He fought to return to the gym to train in the spring.
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“Joe is a good kids and it’s unfortunate this happened,” said community activist Raul Montes. “Hopefully he can recover and he can become pro.”
Maloney said the car was a gift from his grandfather and he cherished it.
“I really liked it,” he said. “Not too many teenagers have a Lincoln.”
Police said Monday that no one was in custody in connection with the carjacking and Area Central Detectives are investigating.
