One Dead, Eight Injured In Rush-Hour CTA Bus Crash Tuesday

By Rachel Cromidas in News on Jun 3, 2015 2:50PM

A CTA bus crash on one of Chicago's busiest Loop streets Tuesday evening has left one dead and eight injured, including the bus driver.

The crash happened around 6 p.m., during the middle of rush hour in one the city's bustling business districts, near the intersection of Lake Street and Michigan Avenue. The accordion-style #148 bus collided with a pedestrian and a vehicle as it turned onto Michigan Avenue, CTA spokesman Brian Steele told reporters.

While some eyewitnesses have said the crash was caused by the bus swerving to avoid a vehicle that had run a red light, authorities have said the bus went through a red light, striking two pedestrians and at least three other vehicles before jumping the curb. This crash marks the most significant CTA collision since a Blue Line train bound for O'Hare International Airport went off the rails while entering the O'Hare station, injuring 40 people and causing about $9 million in damage last year.

The bus was empty except for the bus-driver, authorities said. Several pedestrians were apparently injured in the collision. Aimee Coath, 51, of Flossmoor, was pronounced dead at 6:07 pm. after being taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, the Cook County medical examiner's office has told reporters.

Police and CTA officials are analyzing surveillance footage to determine more information about the cause of the crash and the driver has been issued citations for failure to stop at a red light and failure to exercise due care, police said.

One witness described the harrowing experience to the Sun-Times, after she watched the aftermath from the first-floor CVS store facing the east side of Michigan Avenue:

Evanston resident Julie Larkin works in the Michigan Plaza building near the site of the crash, and said she was in a first-floor CVS when she heard a scream and then “a horrible thuddy crash.”

She ran outside to see the bus driver with his eyes closed, apparently unconscious. Several good Samaritans got on the bus to check on him while she called 911.

“I’ll never forget that scream,” Larkin said.

Below are some posts shared on Twitter from the accident scene last night and this morning: