This Week in Stupid

By Joanna Miller in News on Jul 17, 2006 9:18PM

If you ask Chicagoist, stupid can mean more than one thing. Stupid can be petty and a little bizarre, sometimes it’s odd and a little misguided, and sometimes it’s just plain cruel. Here, in this Monday edition of TWIS, are a few examples.

• An Illinois woman who fell on her parent’s icy driveway in January 2005 is now suing them for negligence. Carriel Louah, 25, says the incident occurred following a surprise birthday visit to her mother. After celebrating at a local bar and spending the night at their home, she slipped and broke her ankle and injured her foot. She claims an apology letter from her mother will help her win the case. In the letter, her mother says she and her husband “should have fixed that damn (gutter) years ago.” Louah is seeking damages for medical bills and lost wages.
• On Sunday morning, someone walking along North North Park Avenue in Old Town noticed something suspicious. Sitting outside a trash container was a bunch of wood pieces, resembling broom sticks, taped together with electrical tape. The passerby, believing the object was a bomb, contacted the police office, who referred the incident to Bomb & Arson. The mysterious object turned out to be a discarded Second City theater prop.
• A Burbank teenager with a prosthetic leg was playing basketball with two friends on Sunday night when a car came barreling down the street, nearly hit a child on the block. They yelled at the driver who backed up and hit one of the boys. Six passengers got out and approached them. Dominic Choate, 15, showed them his leg, hoping they would leave them alone, but the men beat his two friends and eventually took his leg and used it as a weapon. His prosthetic, an expensive device, was broken during the fight. He has since been forced to use a wheelchair for the first time in two years. Police are looking for the attackers who, if found, could face charges of aggravated battery and aggravated criminal damage to property. Choate’s mother says her son has been reluctant to leave the house since the attack.

Jeffrey Shovels the Driveway via bcmom