Woman Choked, Pulled to Ground Outside Target

An 18-year-old Peotone woman called over the weekend after an abrupt merge onto Interstate 80 and an unsettling interaction with a fellow motorist, she was chased and choked outside a supermarket. 

The woman told police that around 11:30 p.m. Saturday, she was on I-57, merging onto I-80 as a construction zone was approaching, forcing her to quickly make the lane change. After her merge, she noticed a dark-colored Buick LeSabre tailing her very closely. She took the Harlem Avenue exit hoping the driver wouldn't follow her, but he did, the report said.

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The woman then parked her vehicle behind the Vision Works store in the 7200 block of West 191st Street. She noticed the Buick parking in the same area just a few spots away, police said. 

"(The victim) got out of her vehicle and began to run to Super Target, which was across the parking lot from where she parked," the report said. "As (she) ran … the unknown male subject ran after her, approached her from behind, grabbed her by the throat and began pulling her backwards."

He threw her to the ground, where police later found one of her earrings, and then sprinted back to his car as the woman called 911. The man was alone in the Buick, the woman said. She said there were no words, facial expressions or hand gestures exchanged on the highway and the man never spoke to her. 

Trace Ambulance paramedics tended to a small scrape on her left arm. She refused further treatment.

Police had several leads on the incident Monday including surveillance footage from at least two nearby businesses. The case remained under investigation around 8 p.m. Aug. 28.

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