Man Carjacked Car, Crashed It: Police

LAKE COUNTY, IL — A 20-year-old Wisconsin man who stole the car of a Good Samaritan and then crashed it is now in extremely critical condition, authorities said. The man, who is from Kenosha, Wisconsin, is accused of fleeing in the Chrysler PT Cruiser at about 1 a.m. on Friday and then crashing it into a light pole at Route 60 and Route 120 in unincorporated Volo.

The Good Samaritan, a 48-year-old Round Lake Beach woman, pulled over to assist the Wisconsin man, who she thought was a stranded motorist in the area of Route 60 and Erhart Road in unincorporated Mundelein, at about 1 a.m. Friday, according to a news release from the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

The woman was forcefully pulled from her car before the man got in and drove away, according to the news release.

Deputies were called a short time later to the area of Route 60 and Route 120 in Volo for a report of a street sign that had been knocked down. When they arrived, they found a light pole down in the roadway and the Chrysler PT Cruiser about 1,000 feet off the road.

They also found the 20-year-old man on the ground and unconscious, according to police.

Authorities believe he was driving in the stolen vehicle northwest on Route 60 at a high rate of speed when he went off the road near Route 120, according to police. The car hit the light pole and rolled several times before the man was thrown from it.

The Good Samaritan told police the Chrysler was hers, and the man driving her vehicle matched the description of the man who carjacked her car.

Police say the 20-year-old man was taken to Advocate Condell Medical Center in extremely critical condition. Charges are currently pending against the driver, authorities said.