Carjacker Intentionally Rear-Ends BMW Driver In Glencoe: Police

GLENCOE, IL — A teenager staged a fender bender in order to carjack a BMW Thursday in a residential area of Glencoe, authorities said.

The hijacking took place shortly before 8 p.m. near the intersection of Sunset Lane and Skokie Ridge Drive, according to Andrew Perley, the deputy chief of the village's consolidated police and fire department.

Alexandru Croiter, a 19-year-old Lincolnwood resident, intentionally drove a GMC Acadia into the back of a BMW X5 before getting out, attacking the other driver and stealing their car, according to a Friday night update from Perley.

Croiter, who had three juvenile passengers in his GMC, which had not been reported stolen, and did not use a weapon in the carjacking, Perley told Patch.

By the time police arrived at the scene, both the GMC and BMW were gone.

But detectives were able to track down the BMW to the 6800 block of West Cleveland Street in Niles, where they quickly identified Croiter and took him into custody just 25 minutes after responding to the carjacking victim’s 911 call, according to Perley.

Presley said investigators know of no connection between Croiter and any street gang or criminal enterprise, and there is not indication he knew the motorist he allegedly rear-ended.

Croiter is due to appear in court Saturday in Chicago, where prosecutors will have the opportunity to seek his pretrial detention. Under the Pretrial Fairness Act, people charged with the offense of vehicular hijacking, a class 1 felony, can be jailed while awaiting trial if they are found to be a danger to the community.