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Man, wife briefly had left the vehicle idling before 2 teens jumped in and sped away
By Raygan Swan
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A father risked his own life Sunday to chase thieves who took his family's car from the driveway with his sons in the back seat.
The thieves ditched the car less than a mile away and shot at the man three times before leaving the children unharmed.
"I'm feeling like God had his hand on me and my family today," said Tom Ardizone, whose car was idling outside his family's Northwestside home when it was stolen. "It's only through God that we all got through this OK."
The string of events began about 1:30 p.m. Sunday, when Tom Ardizone and his wife Shawn, of the 6600 block of Antelope Lane, left the boys alone in the back seat of her Acura TL, idling in the driveway, while the couple made a quick dash back into their home.
When Ardizone, 37, returned to the vehicle, he saw a stranger driving the car out of the driveway as the boys, 4-year-old Luke and 7-year-old Andrew, screamed for help.
The boys' mother, Shawn Ardizone, 36, ran toward the car, shouting at the driver to stop. "All I could think was, 'God please protect them,' that's all I could think -- keep them safe," she said.
Ardizone said he jumped into the family SUV and took off after the suspects who headed south on Lafayette Road. He also called 911. Three of Ardizone's neighbors who saw the commotion also went after the suspects in their vehicles.
Ardizone was close behind when he saw the car thieves pull off the road and get out near the intersection of Lafayette Road and Shanghai Road, leaving the children inside. As Ardizone pulled up alongside his wife's car, the suspect pointed a gun at him, he said.
Three shots were fired, Ardizone said. One hit a tire, another went through the vehicle and the third hit Ardizone. He suffered a superficial wound to the buttocks and was treated at Methodist Hospital and released.
The suspects, later identified only as 16- and 17-year-old boys, fled in a silver Ford Escape that was reported stolen on Friday, police said.
Marion County Sheriff's deputies later apprehended them.
Capt. Brian Mahone said parents need to be more mindful of leaving children in unlocked, running vehicles. "You're inviting criminals to run with your children," he said. Statistics also show that roughly a quarter to a third of the more than 6,000 cars stolen in Marion County last year had the keys left inside.
Ardizone said the wireless communication technology in his wife's car, called Bluetooth, helped end the chase. "Basically, when I called 911, the man in the Acura could hear the (police) dispatch come on and say 'What's your emergency?' " Ardizone said. That's when his older son, Andrew, screamed for help.
"Andrew told the driver if he didn't stop the car he would hit him in the head with his Star Wars Lightsaber", Ardizone said.
evil: ) The suspect threatened to shoot the boy, Ardizone said.
Ardizone said the suspect fled before sheriff's deputies converged on the scene. "Like they say, it's your worst possible nightmare," Ardizone said Sunday evening.
By Raygan Swan
[email protected]
Linky Here
A father risked his own life Sunday to chase thieves who took his family's car from the driveway with his sons in the back seat.
The thieves ditched the car less than a mile away and shot at the man three times before leaving the children unharmed.
"I'm feeling like God had his hand on me and my family today," said Tom Ardizone, whose car was idling outside his family's Northwestside home when it was stolen. "It's only through God that we all got through this OK."
The string of events began about 1:30 p.m. Sunday, when Tom Ardizone and his wife Shawn, of the 6600 block of Antelope Lane, left the boys alone in the back seat of her Acura TL, idling in the driveway, while the couple made a quick dash back into their home.
When Ardizone, 37, returned to the vehicle, he saw a stranger driving the car out of the driveway as the boys, 4-year-old Luke and 7-year-old Andrew, screamed for help.
The boys' mother, Shawn Ardizone, 36, ran toward the car, shouting at the driver to stop. "All I could think was, 'God please protect them,' that's all I could think -- keep them safe," she said.
Ardizone said he jumped into the family SUV and took off after the suspects who headed south on Lafayette Road. He also called 911. Three of Ardizone's neighbors who saw the commotion also went after the suspects in their vehicles.
Ardizone was close behind when he saw the car thieves pull off the road and get out near the intersection of Lafayette Road and Shanghai Road, leaving the children inside. As Ardizone pulled up alongside his wife's car, the suspect pointed a gun at him, he said.
Three shots were fired, Ardizone said. One hit a tire, another went through the vehicle and the third hit Ardizone. He suffered a superficial wound to the buttocks and was treated at Methodist Hospital and released.
The suspects, later identified only as 16- and 17-year-old boys, fled in a silver Ford Escape that was reported stolen on Friday, police said.
Marion County Sheriff's deputies later apprehended them.
Capt. Brian Mahone said parents need to be more mindful of leaving children in unlocked, running vehicles. "You're inviting criminals to run with your children," he said. Statistics also show that roughly a quarter to a third of the more than 6,000 cars stolen in Marion County last year had the keys left inside.
Ardizone said the wireless communication technology in his wife's car, called Bluetooth, helped end the chase. "Basically, when I called 911, the man in the Acura could hear the (police) dispatch come on and say 'What's your emergency?' " Ardizone said. That's when his older son, Andrew, screamed for help.
"Andrew told the driver if he didn't stop the car he would hit him in the head with his Star Wars Lightsaber", Ardizone said.
evil: ) The suspect threatened to shoot the boy, Ardizone said.Ardizone said the suspect fled before sheriff's deputies converged on the scene. "Like they say, it's your worst possible nightmare," Ardizone said Sunday evening.
