WAUKEGAN, IL — An Uber driver was hospitalized for injuries he suffered when he carjacked by a group of passengers shortly after midnight Thursday morning in Beach Park, authorities said.
A 56-year-old Tukwila, Washington, man was working for the ride-hailing company when he was summoned to pick up a fare at an address on Elizabeth Avenue in Zion, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
Click Here: cheap Crusaders Jerseys
Four men got into his car, a 2010 Mercedes-Benz 350, and they were directed via the Uber app to head to the 39800 block of Stoneywood Drive in Beach Park.
Find out what's happening in Lake Forest-Lake Bluffwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Once they arrived, the group of men began beating the driver and shoved him out of his car, said a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office.
The carjackers took the driver’s phone, so he had to walk several blocks to a nearby gas station to call 911.
Find out what's happening in Lake Forest-Lake Bluffwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Deputies tracked down the man’s phone near Green Bay Road and 33rd Street in Beach Park, where the carjackers had tossed, with the help of its location data and a police dog.
The driver suffered “numerous” facial injuries and was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment, according to the sheriff’s office.
Investigators do not believe anyone at the Stonewood Avenue address where the carjacking occurred were involved in the incident.
Detectives from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office are searching for the car and the men, a physical description of whom was unavailable as of Thursday morning, according to the sheriff’s office.
Anyone with information about the incident was encouraged to call the criminal investigations division of the sheriff’s office at 847-377-4000
The stolen gray Mercedes reportedly had a license plate reading DW27466 at the time of the theft.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.