A pregnant Chicago mother was unable to track her vehicle after being struck by thieves, who stole her car with her young son inside, because the automaker, Volkswagen, refused to let police use its crash response system. Car-Net, claiming the woman had failed to pay a bill, according to the Lake County Sheriff's Office in Illinois.
Police contacted the manufacturer to help locate the stolen 2021 Volkswagen Atlas using the GPS service, but “Volkswagen Car-Net [said they] would not track the vehicle with the abducted child until they receive payment to reactivate the tracking device.” follow-up in the stolen Volkswagen", lamented the authorities in a post on their Facebook account.
[A pregnant woman is run over by a man outside her Chicago home who steals her car with her 2-year-old son in it]
The 34-year-old woman, whose identity has not been revealed, had to pay $150 to restart the Volkswagen Car-Net service, detectives told the Chicago Sun-Times newspaper, which reported that, due to that delay, they got lost. at least 30 minutes in the operation to rescue the minor.
A mother of Latino origin accuses a hospital of mistreating her baby: "That cannot be left like that"
Feb 24, 202300:42
After paying the balance for the mother's Car-Net service, police located the vehicle about 11 miles (17 kilometers) south of her home.
The robbers fled, but officers recovered the baby, unharmed, after the kidnapper let it go into a parking lot.
The mother, six months pregnant, has a broken pelvis and elbow after being run over by robbers in front of her home, CBS Chicago reported.
She is admitted to a local hospital in serious condition.
Christopher Covelli, deputy chief of the Chicago sheriff's office, told the Sun-Times that it is concerning that a company withholds information that could save someone's life.
“Most companies understand that these things take a long time and sometimes that time and information is essential when and immediately needed to potentially save a life,” he said.
The German-based automaker said in a statement to CBS News that it has a procedure in place with a third-party provider for Car-Net assistance services that "involve emergency requests from law enforcement."
"They have run this process successfully in previous incidents," he said, "unfortunately, in this case, there was a serious violation."