A Chicago man is facing felony charges after stealing an SUV with an 11-year-old girl inside Friday morning at a gas station in west suburban Aurora.
Tyrelle L. Pulley, 20, of the Fuller Park neighborhood, was charged with felony counts of aggravated vehicular hijacking and aggravated possession of a stolen motor vehicle, according to Aurora police and the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office.
About 5:45 a.m., a man got out of his 2018 Jeep Cherokee to fill up the gas tank at the BP station at 1207 Eola Road, authorities said. Pulley then got out of a blue Dodge Charger and hopped into the Cherokee while the man’s daughter was still sitting in the back seat.
As Pulley accelerated through the gas station’s parking lot, the girl tried to stop him before ultimately opening the back passenger door and jumping out, authorities said. The Cherokee and the Charger then took off in a northwest direction.
“I would like to express how relieved I am that the little girl involved in this crime is safe,” DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said in a statement. “Her quick thinking and courage to jump out of a moving vehicle may be what kept a terrifying situation from turning tragic.”
About 6:30 a.m., an Illinois State Police trooper gave chase after spotting the stolen Cherokee driving east near the interchange between Interstate 88 and the Eisenhower Expressway in Hillside, authorities said. The pursuit ended in a crash, and Pulley was taken into custody.
No one was injured, police said.
Pulley is being held at the DuPage County Jail on $15,000 bond, the state’s attorney’s office said.
