Woman Carjacked In New Lenox During Police Pursuit: Police

NEW LENOX, IL — A woman in New Lenox was carjacked Thursday morning by multiple people fleeing from Illinois State Police, according to the New Lenox Police Department.

A vehicle being chased by ISP crashed in the area of Interstate 355 and Interstate 80, according to a Facebook post from NLPD at approximately 8:53 a.m. Thursday. The people in the vehicle then ran into New Lenox near Edmonds Street, where they attempted to steal several vehicles before carjacking the woman who was driving a GMC Yukon near Francis Road and Regan Road, police said.

Liberty Junior High School is in a soft lockdown as a precaution, New Lenox Police Chief Louis Alessandrini said.

The carjackers have fled the area and ISP is in pursuit, police said. The area is now secure, police said, but there remains a heavy police presence in the area.

The GMC Yukon was spotted in by a witness in Markham where it apparently crashed, and several people were seen fleeing the vehicle, Alessandrini said.

A tri-county auto theft unit is actively in the search for the suspects, Alessandrini said.

ISP told Patch that the original pursuit started at approximately 7:40 a.m. Troopers responded to assist the Grundy County Sheriff's Office for the theft of multiple vehicles in the area, ISP said.