Early Wednesday, a crew in a dark Jeep turned a Brighton Park storefront into a drive-thru, slamming into the front of a currency exchange, sprinting inside, then ditching the SUV and taking off on foot, according to Chicago police.
The crash happened around 5:15 a.m. on the 2400 block of West 47th Street, and police said no one was hurt. Detectives are treating the case as a smash-and-grab style break-in and are now working to piece together who was behind the hit.
Officers told CBS Chicago the Jeep plowed into the business just before 5:15 a.m., and that the vehicle was abandoned after the offenders ran off. At the time of that report, it was unclear whether anything had actually been taken from inside.
According to FOX 32 Chicago, the storefront hit was a PLS Check Cashers at 2400 W. 47th St. Investigators were canvassing the area for witnesses and surveillance footage as the probe continued into the morning.
Part Of A Wider Crash-and-Grab Pattern
Police and local outlets have been tracking a familiar move across the city, with suspects using Jeep-style SUVs as battering rams against closed storefronts during the pre-dawn hours, then trying to snatch ATMs or high-value merchandise before anyone can react. As outlined by CBS Chicago, a series of similar crash-and-grab jobs hit multiple South and West Side neighborhoods last year.
River North Example: ATM Stolen After Jeep Ramming
On April 14, a crew used the same basic playbook in River North. A Jeep was driven straight into a gas station, the suspects hauled out an ATM, then jumped into another vehicle and took off, leaving the battered Jeep behind, FOX 32 Chicago reported. Even when no one is injured, those kinds of hits can leave small businesses stuck with thousands of dollars in damage.
Chicago police are asking anyone with information about the Brighton Park break-in to contact area detectives. Tips can be submitted anonymously through the department's online tip portal or by texting CPDTip to 738477, according to the Chicago Police Department. For non-emergencies, people can call 312-746-6000 or file a report through the department's website.
