Dr. Stephanie Davis lay in a fetal position at a Harvey gas station, trying to protect herself while her assailant kicked her, then seized her vehicle and sped away.

       Immediately after the September carjacking, Davis worked with police and the car dealership in an attempt to use the vehicle’s internal tracking to locate it, but encountered bureaucratic hurdles. Meanwhile, her Porsche Cayenne was used in a second carjacking and at least one other crime, she later learned. More than a week later, after numerous phone calls, Davis was finally able to track her truck, and it was located within hours on Oct. 1.

       If police and the car dealer had been able to track her car more quickly, she believes it could have saved someone from another traumatic carjacking.

       “If the tracing and recovery had occurred sooner, there would be one less victim associated with my vehicle,” Davis said.

       Dr. Stephanie Davis talks about her experience after being carjacked in September, during a news conference at the Cook County sheriff's police department on Dec. 9, 2021, in Maywood. Looking on is Sheriff Tom Dart, who announced a series of efforts his office is making to curb the rise of carjackings. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)

       Davis, a retired Air Force physician, told her story at a news conference Thursday along with Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart to call on automakers to come up with solutions to quickly and easily track carjacked vehicles.

       Dart on Dec. 3 sent a letter to major automakers asking them to collaborate.

       “Everywhere carjackings are up,” Dart said. “People are rightfully outraged. They’re scared.”

       Carjackings have long been a scourge in Chicago, affecting nearly every neighborhood across the city. Most recently, Chicago police arrested an 11-year-old suspected in multiple carjackings.

       Most vehicles made after 2015 — which make up the majority of hijacked vehicles in the area — have the ability to be tracked, Dart said. But police face challenges in working with car manufacturers to trace the vehicles in a timely manner. Sometimes the victims, who would have to facilitate, are injured, he said. Sometimes, the car companies have an overly complicated process.

       Among other possible solutions, Dart suggested the automakers create a free 24/7 hotline that customers and police could use in the event of a carjacking. The Cook County sheriff’s office also created a consent form that car owners can fill out in advance, so that if their vehicle is stolen, police will have permission to track. The form can be found on the sheriff office’s website.

       Dart said carjackings across the county have increased by 43% so far this year, as compared with 2020.

       In Davis’ case, she was attacked in broad daylight, while stopping at a gas station about 7:30 a.m. after a trip to the gym. The carjacker grabbed her door handle as she tried to close it, and pointed a gun at her head, she said.

       Using reflexes born out of military training, she grabbed the barrel of the gun and pointed it away from her, she said. The carjacker threw her to the ground and began kicking her, she said.

       He drove away in her Cayenne. When she called her dealer, she was told the vehicle couldn’t be tracked, she said, even though the vehicle had that capability. Later that day, she learned it was used in a carjacking in Elmhurst.

       “Improving quick access to tracking information would be beneficial to countless victims who are trying to get their lives back after a horrific trauma like a carjacking,” she said.

       mabuckley@chicagotribune.com

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