By ASN News Editorial Desk
NEWS FLASH
CHICAGO (CHICAGO URBAN DAILY)— A CTA bus driver escaped through a window Tuesday night after a passenger pulled a gun and forced her to keep driving through the Southwest Side.
The ordeal started around 8:24 p.m. Tuesday, in the 5400 block of South Pulaski Road. Police say 36-year-old Quentin Lewis boarded bus #8611 without paying at Jackson Boulevard and Pulaski Road in Garfield Park. About two miles south, near 26th Street in Little Village, he pulled out a gun with an extended magazine and pointed it at a person outside the bus.
Lewis then ordered the 35-year-old driver to “go, go, go” — and to keep running red lights as the bus rolled south on Pulaski. A passenger pulled an emergency lever, bringing the bus to a stop. Passengers got out, and the driver — fearing she would be attacked — climbed out through a window.
Lewis got off the bus and jumped into a pickup truck left running outside a bakery. He slammed it into a Chicago police car as officers arrived and was taken into custody about 8:25 p.m. Police recovered a loaded Glock with an extended magazine.
Lewis, a convicted felon, is charged with kidnapping while armed with a firearm, aggravated unlawful restraint, possession of a stolen vehicle and unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon. A judge ordered him detained at a hearing Thursday. He is due back in court November 10.
No injuries were reported among the driver or passengers. The CTA says it is working closely with Chicago police and sharing surveillance footage from the bus.
Stay tuned to Chicago Urban Daily for updates as this case moves through court — and for what it means for safety on the buses Chicagoans ride every day.
Reported by Chicago Urban Daily News. Visit chicagourbandailynews.com for updates.
