Watch CBS News

Woman Dragged From Car, Sexually Assaulted On Southwest Side

UPDATED 01/04/12 4:03 p.m.

CHICAGO (CBS) -- She was on her way home, but she never made it; a Chicago woman was brutally attacked while sitting in her car early Wednesday morning.

As CBS 2's Suzanne Le Mignot reports, it happened around 5:40 a.m. on Mozart Street near 81st Street, in the Wrightwood neighborhood. The victim told police a man about 25 years old smashed her car window and dragged her out.

The woman was taken to a nearby hospital where she is being treated. Police are still looking for the suspect, who carried out the violent attack.

LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio's Steve Miller reports

Podcast

Shattered glass covered the street where the attack happened. Police dusted for fingerprints on Wednesday, hoping to find the person responsible for the brutal attack.

"It's, like, shocking that something like that would happen around here," neighbor Dominique Kilgore said.

Police said the woman had just arrived home on the 8000 block of South Mozart when, she told police, a man smashed her car window and dragged her from the car to a backyard walkway, where he beat her and sexually assaulted her.

"I feel horrible for the family. I feel horrible for any woman who's victimized," neighbor Carolyn Franklin said. "Because it could have been me. It could have been any woman, anybody; and whoever did it is just a vicious animal and should be apprehended immediately."

The woman told police after the vicious attack, the man took her purse, slashed the tires on her car and left. The victim got into her car and was able to drive a few blocks away, where she called out for help. Someone nearby called police.

Neighbor Jerkell Taylor said he's worried because, a few days ago, someone broke into his grandfather's car.

"My mom goes to work at night, too, and so now we have to start looking out for her, so this won't happen to her," he said.

Kilgore said, "I hope she gets better and recovers and I hope the police will find the person that did this."

Police said the woman could only give them a very vague description of her attacker. Police found the car the man used to drive off, but are still looking for the suspect.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.