A Galena man was sentenced to prison after carjacking a woman in the Loop and then crashing the snatched car on the Kennedy Expressway during a frenzied getaway in 2024.
According to court documents, Forrest Wagner, 31, was sentenced to five years by Judge Michael Clancy on Monday after pleading guilty to one count of vehicular hijacking. Wagner is anticipated to be freed on parole in roughly a year after receiving the state’s normal 50% sentence reduction and credit for 530 days served in jail.
The allegations come from an event in December 2024 in which a 31-year-old woman sat in the passenger seat of a 2015 Dodge Dart on the first block of North State Street while her friend entered a neighboring restaurant.
Prosecutors claimed Wagner approached the automobile, glanced inside, and got into the driver’s seat. When the woman attempted to flee, he allegedly yanked her hair and grabbed her to prevent her from exiting the vehicle. According to a CPD investigation, the woman was able to free herself after Wagner loosened his grip to tighten his seatbelt.
The car’s owner, a 30-year-old male, returned as the hijacking occurred and attempted to remove Wagner from the vehicle, according to prosecutors. Wagner reportedly struck him before speeding away.
An off-duty Chicago police officer discovered the stolen car after it crashed with numerous vehicles on the outgoing Kennedy Expressway between Diversey Avenue and Kedzie Avenue, according to authorities. Wagner escaped and went into a fast-food restaurant in Avondale, where an off-duty officer and on-duty cops apprehended him.
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