A 57-year-old Calumet Heights woman has been arrested and charged with attempted murder after she allegedly pushed another Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) rider onto the train tracks. The incident occurred just before 6:45 a.m., on Friday, March 2 at a Red Line stop near Rogers Park.
According to police, the 57-year-old woman had apparently become enraged after she wasn’t able to retrieve money she was owed after she got off of the the train at the stop located at 1358 W. Morse Ave. Witnesses to the incident reported overhearing the woman shout outloud that she “wanted to kill someone” before she allegedly decided to approach a 66-year-old stranger and push her onto the tracks.
The victim is said to have fallen head first as she was pushed into the tracks. She lost consciousness as her head struck the track. Another bystander tended to the elderly woman as she lay on the tracks. She then summoned police to the CTA stop.
When police arrived on the scene, they found the alleged instigator of the crime sitting on a bench there on the platform. She’d apparently taken a seat on it immediately after pushing the woman onto tracks.
Emergency crews arriving on the scene quickly transported the elderly victim to Evanston’s St. Francis Hospital. Doctors later diagnosed her as having suffered an injured jaw, skull fracture and brain contusions with bleeding.
As for the defendant, a judge has decided to hold her in jail without bail. At her arraignment, he also granted her a health care order. She’ll be eligible to received treatment for her suspected mental illness using it. It also allows her to receive disability payments from the Social Security Administration (SSA) to pay for it. She’s next due in court on Friday, March 9.
If you or someone you know has been injured at the hands of a dangerous or otherwise negligent individual, then a Chicago personal injury attorney can advise you of your right to file a lawsuit in your case.
Source: Chicago Patch, “Woman accused of shoving red line rider onto CTA tracks,” Joe Vince, March 05, 2018