Andrew Smith and Christine Flores
9 minutes ago
CRESTWOOD, Ill. (WGN) – The manager of a Chicago-area car dealership said a woman walked into the facility Thursday, took some keys when no one was looking and drove off with one of the cars.
Mike Elsayed, the manager of Your Choice Auto Sales in Crestwood, said it all happened within minutes. Elsayed said the woman almost hit him as she was also leaving.
“I said, ‘Stop, stop,’ and she was looking me in the eye, ‘No, no,'” Elsaed said. “She started driving the vehicle and I just had to jump out at the last second or I would have been hit.”
The theft took place around 4:00 p.m. Thursday, after an unknown woman entered the office and took several keys that were hanging in an area exclusively for employees.
“At first, I thought one of my co-workers, because I have a mechanic and a detailer, gave him a key and he’s going for a test drive,” Elsayed said. “I ran to the car trying to stop her because I just wanted to put a plate on the car.”
He then quickly realized the woman’s intentions.
“I went straight to my phone, I called 911,” Elsaed said. “They came a few minutes later, I explained everything to them. They tried to track her down and go after her.”
Elsayed says he has heard of other dealerships experiencing similar problems.
“This has been happening for a few months, not just to us, but to almost every dealership in the state,” Elsayed said. “And not just used car dealers like us; they even target new car dealers and luxury car dealers.”
Elsayed said the stolen car was later recovered on the side of the road in Indiana, as were some of the other keys he allegedly took. But he still wants to share the story, to warn other car managers or owners to take “extra precautions”.
Police have not yet said whether the woman had been found, or what charges she might face.
