A Cleveland Clinic employee said she was rear-ended in traffic and then carjacked Friday leaving work.
Clinical counselor and expecting mother Katie DiNardo said she bumped her head in that crash Friday around noon at the intersection of Woodland and Buckeye Avenues. It’s just down the street from her job at Cleveland Clinic’s Children's Hospital for Rehabilitation in Shaker Heights.
“I get out of my car to check the damage,” she said adding that the situation then escalated, “He gets in, shuts the door, locks it. I go up to the door trying to yell at him to get out and he just books it.”
She said the unidentified man then crashed the car about a quarter mile down Buckeye Ave. near E. 90th Street before taking off on foot. His accomplice also got away in the maroon car used to rear-end her, she said.
DiNardo's 2015 Honda Civic suffered extensive damage and it's happened before. The day before, The Clinic sent out an internal security alert, warning employees of similar so-called “bump and carjack” incidents happening nearby.
Police in Beachwood recently reported similar incidents there as well.
"My theory is they sit by the hospital, they see these women come out by themselves and they’re like, ‘We’re going to get her. She’s got a nice car, she might have some nice things in there, you know let’s get her,’” Kate’s husband Jon DiNardo said.
Katie said, if it happens again, she won’t be getting out of the car.
"I’m going to keep driving and call 911. That’s all I can do,” she said.
Police recommend anyone rear-ended in traffic who doesn’t feel safe call 911 or keep driving to the nearest police station.
