A Galena man who carjacked a woman in the Loop and then crashed the hijacked car on the Kennedy Expressway during a chaotic getaway in 2024 has been sentenced to prison.
Judge Michael Clancy sentenced Forrest Wagner to five years on Monday after the 31-year-old pleaded guilty to one count of vehicle hijacking, court records show. With the standard 50% sentence reduction and credit for 530 days earned in jail, Wagner is expected to be released on parole in about a year.
The charges stem from a December 2024 incident that began when a 31-year-old woman sat in the passenger seat of a 2015 Dodge Dart in the first block of North State Street while her companion entered a nearby restaurant.
Prosecutors said Wagner approached the car, looked inside and climbed into the driver’s seat. When the woman tried to escape, he reportedly pulled her hair and grabbed her to prevent her from getting out of the vehicle. According to a CPD report, the woman managed to break free when Wagner released his grip to fasten his seat belt.
The car’s owner, a 30-year-old man, returned as the hijacking unfolded and tried to pull Wagner from the vehicle, prosecutors said. Wagner allegedly hit him before driving away.
A short time later, an off-duty Chicago police officer spotted the stolen car after it collided with several vehicles on the outbound Kennedy Expressway between Diversey Avenue and Kedzie Avenue, according to police. Wagner got out and fled to a fast food restaurant in Avondale, where the off-duty officer and on-duty police took him into custody.
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