Paroled carjacker dies after crashing freshly hijacked SUV into tree

Jaime Chris Hernandez (Illinois Department of Corrections, Multiplottr)

A man who out of prison less than four months after serving time for multiple armed robberies and a carjacking died late Tuesday when he crashed a freshly-carjacked SUV on the West Side, according to Chicago police and court records.

Around 11:20 p.m. Tuesday, a man was changing the tire on his 2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee in the 4200 block of South Artesian Avenue when an armed, masked man approached and ordered him out of the vehicle, a CPD report stated. The victim complied. His girlfriend, who witnessed the carjacking live over FaceTime, immediately called 911.

Roughly 20 minutes later, officers were called to the 2800 block of West Van Buren Street, where the same Jeep had jumped a curb and slammed into a tree. Police said the driver was found unresponsive inside the SUV and was pronounced dead at the scene.

A law enforcement source told CWBChicago that officers recovered a firearm from inside the crashed vehicle.

The Cook County medical examiner’s office identified the deceased man as 29-year-old Jaime Chris Hernandez.

Court records show Hernandez was sentenced to nine years in prison in 2018 for three armed robberies and a carjacking. He was released from state custody on June 25 and remained on parole at the time of his death. Records also indicate prior prison terms for unlawful gun possession in 2014 and 2015.

Autopsy results were pending on Thursday, according to the medical examiner’s office.

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Tim Hecke is CWBChicago's managing partner. He started his career at KMOX, the legendary news radio station in St. Louis. From there, he moved on to work at stations in Minneapolis, Chicago, and New York City. Tim went on to build syndicated radio news and content services that served every one of America's 100 largest radio markets. He became CWBChicago's managing partner in 2019. His email address is tim@cwbchicago.com