Person in custody after woman set on fire on CTA train in Chicago’s Loop
One person was in custody Tuesday after a woman was set on fire while riding a CTA Blue Line in Chicago’s Loop the night before.
The woman remained in the hospital late Tuesday afternoon.
According to Chicago police, the 26-year-old woman got into an argument with a 45-year-old man while she was on a train at the Clark/Lake subway station around 9:25 p.m. Police said the fight escalated when the man poured a liquid on the woman and set her on fire.
Sources said the liquid poured by the man was gasoline.
Police said the woman ran from the train and collapsed on the platform.
“She was running out of the train toward the middle, completely engulfed in fire,” witness Christopher Flores said.
A witness told CBS News Chicago that he saw the victim jump from the train and bystanders come to his aid.
“I went to see what was happening,” Flores said. “She’s on the floor crying. Burnt until crisp.”
The woman was no longer on fire when first responders arrived on the scene. But she suffered severe burns and was taken to Stroger Hospital of Cook County in critical condition.
Sources said more than half of his body was burned. CBS Chicago obtained video of the aftermath, which shows a woman with significant burns to her head.
The incident was extremely concerning for Chicago Transit Authority train riders.
“The fire department arrived and we smelled a strong burning smell,” Blue Line pilot Wyatt Wykoff said.
Police said one person was taken into custody following the attack. The identity of the person is unknown at this time. An arson investigation is underway.
How is the CTA responding to this incident and addressing the obvious safety concerns that arise from it? CBS News Chicago began contacting the CTA Monday evening, and an interview request was declined Tuesday.
Instead, officials released a statement Tuesday afternoon: “The CTA worked closely with the Chicago Police Department (CPD) and Public Transportation Unit detectives embedded within the CTA’s dedicated Strategic Decision Support Center (SDSC), to support their investigation and ensure the violator was quickly apprehended.
There were no responses to further questions from CBS News Chicago.
CBS News Chicago toured the strategic decision support center that the Chicago Police Department has dedicated to security on the CTA. Detectives and analysts work at this center to monitor approximately 40,000 CTA cameras 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, every day of the year.
CBS News Chicago took a closer look at violent crime in the CTA system this year and found more than 230 reported aggravated battery cases, more than seen in the last 10 years.
Overall, violent crime is down this year in Chicago compared to last year.
