Lawsuit Alleges Illinois Family Forced to Pay Fee for GPS Data After Carjacking with Son Inside

A lawsuit has been filed against Volkswagen by a family in Libertyville, Illinois, who survived a terrifying carjacking and kidnapping earlier this year. The family alleges that the carmaker’s refusal to provide GPS tracking information to the police has caused them significant trauma. The victim, Taylor Shepherd, was returning home in February when a masked man jumped into her Volkswagen Atlas, with her two-year-old son still strapped in the back. Shepherd attempted to stop the carjacking but was run over by the carjackers, resulting in a badly broken pelvis. In her distress, she called 911 and mentioned that she had the Volkswagen Car-Net app on her phone. However, when the Lake County Sheriff’s deputies contacted Volkswagen to explain the kidnapping, they were informed that Shepherd’s service had expired and were asked to pay $150 to access the GPS information. Eventually, Shepherd’s father paid the bill and unlocked the information, but by then, Isaiah, the kidnapped child, had been found wandering near a parking lot in Waukegan and the stolen car had been abandoned a few miles away. The family is now suing Volkswagen and the Car-Net service to ensure that no other family goes through a similar ordeal. The lawsuit alleges that it is shocking for someone to refuse to provide information on a kidnapped child for a mere $150 subscription renewal. Despite the successful birth of a healthy baby boy, the family continues to deal with the psychological effects of the incident and is undergoing therapy. FOX 32 has reached out to Volkswagen for their response to the lawsuit.