Police: 14-year-old boy stole car with elderly woman in back seat

A 14-year-old boy has been charged with stealing a car with an 88-year-old woman in the back seat Wednesday evening in northwest suburban Park Ridge, police said.

Just before 7 p.m., the woman was waiting in the vehicle while family members were inside the Walgreens at 901 W. Touhy Ave. when the boy got in the car and drove off, according to Park Ridge police.

Chicago Police officers spotted the car about five miles away and pulled it over in the 4800 block of North Austin, where the boy was arrested, police said.

The elderly woman was not in the vehicle, but they later found out the boy had dropped her off at her home, police said.

The 14-year-old was charged with one count of aggravated vehicular hijacking and booked into the Cook County Juvenile Detention Center, according to police. His name was not released because of his age.

A Park Ridge officer who was headed to the scene where the boy was arrested was involved in a “minor” crash with another vehicle several blocks away, police said. The officer was taken to Resurrection Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries, police said. A passenger in the other vehicle was also transported to the hospital. Both have since been released.

The driver of the other vehicle involved in the crash was cited for failure to yield to an emergency vehicle, police said. The department will conduct a routine review of the crash, as it does with all officer-involved crashes.

“The Park Ridge Police Department is pleased with the swift and positive resolution of this case. The victim was located, unharmed, shortly into the investigation due to the excellent investigative work by detectives, and our partnership and teamwork with the Chicago Police Department,” the police statement said.

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