Champaign Police were dispatched at 7:19 p.m. on October 5, 2022, to the intersection of Prospect Avenue and Olympian Drive for a report of a vehicular hijacking that had just occurred. Upon arrival, officers found a 67-year-old male victim from Champaign who reported that he had been rear-ended by an SUV before pulling over to exchange information. After pulling over, the SUV’s occupants exited their vehicle wearing masks to hide their features, then exposed a firearm and demanded the victim’s money. After he complied, the subjects struck him in the face with the weapon. The subjects then fled, taking the victim’s car and their SUV from the scene. They were last seen heading westbound toward Interstate 57. The stolen vehicle is described as a gray Toyota Avalon with license plate ZZ64404. The victim reported minor injuries, including a broken tooth.
The hijacked vehicle was reported to area law enforcement agencies, including the Champaign County Sheriff’s Office and Illinois State Police. No arrests have been made at this time, and the investigation is ongoing. Future updates may be provided as they become available.
Champaign Police ask that anyone who has additional information please call 217-351-4545. Arrangements can be made for information to be shared privately. Anyone wishing to remain anonymous may also submit tips to Crime Stoppers by phone at: 217-373-8477 (TIPS); online at 373tips.com; or the “P3 Tips” mobile app.
Citizens are reminded that information submitted to Crime Stoppers is completely anonymous. Calls are routed to a third-party national call center that receives your information, completes a tips information form, and then passes the information to the appropriate law enforcement agency. Caller ID tracking is not utilized by Crime Stoppers and conversations are not recorded.
Crime Stoppers will pay cash rewards of $5,000 for tips that lead to an arrest in any homicide case, $2,500 for tips leading to an arrest in a felony crime involving a firearm, and up to $1,000 for tips leading to the arrest of the person(s) responsible for any other crime.