UPDATED: Tuesday, May 9, 6:01 p.m.
Oak Park police are questioning more than one person in connection with the May 7 theft of a car from a Roosevelt Road grocery, an incident that turned deadly when the car’s owner, who tried to prevent the theft by leaping through the driver’s side window, was thrown from the vehicle in the 1100 block of Harlem Avenue a few blocks away.
Christopher Daniel Florez, 24, of Westchester, was killed as a result of injuries suffered from being dragged the by the vehicle, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office.
“They are deep into the investigation at this point,” Powers said of the police. Â
Officers are looking at surveillance video of the incident, said Powers, who also confirmed that police found the stolen Dodge Charger on the West Side of Chicago a few hours after the fatal May 7 incident.Â
“I think it’s probably just good police work,” Powers said. “Everyone’s on the lookout. Someone saw a car that matched the description.”
Those people brought in for questioning were found “in or near the car,” Powers said.
On the morning following the incident, police had reported detaining one person whom they described as a “person of interest.”
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A carjacking in the parking lot of an Oak Park grocery store on Roosevelt Road on May 7 resulted in the death of a Westchester man, 24-year-old Christopher Daniel Florez, according to Oak Park police.
Oak Park Police are still investigating the incident and are holding a “person of interest” for questioning.
Florez, police said, left a car running as he, a friend and her daughter stood a few feet away at a DVD rental kiosk outside Jewel, 7036 Roosevelt Road, around 6:40 p.m.
A man, described by witnesses as black male, about 30 to 40 years old with a thin build, short braids and wearing a dark sweater reportedly got into the car.
Florez then ran to the car and reached inside the driver-side window, but the man drove off “at a high rate of speed,” police said.
Still hanging onto the car as it traveled northbound on Harlem Avenue, Florez eventually was thrown from the moving vehicle.
Dustin Murguia, who lives in the 1100 block of Harlem Avenue in Forest Park, was unpacking from a weekend trip at about 7 p.m. on May 7 when he heard the screeching of car tires outside his home.
“I heard a commotion. I heard some people outside. I live right on Harlem,” Murguia said May 8. “I open the window and I can see a body, close to the median of Harlem [Avenue].”
Murguia said he went outside and walked 10 or 15 yards north, just as police and paramedics were arriving.
Murguia said the victim, later identified as Florez, was taken away by paramedics after about five to seven minutes.
Police blocked off Harlem Avenue from Roosevelt Road to Harrison Street for about an hour, Murguia said.
“It was getting dark before we heard traffic outside our house again,” he said.
Florez was taken to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood and pronounced dead later Sunday evening.
Police reported recovering the vehicle, a 2016 Dodge Charger, and detaining a person for questioning.
Oak Park Police did not return a call requesting further comment.
Anyone who may have information regarding the incident is urged to contact Oak Park police at 708-386-3800 or to leave anonymous tips at 708.434.1636 or at www.oak-park.us/crimetip.
