Chicago, Illinois CTA Bus Driver Escapes Through Window as Gunman Is Ordered Held in Jail

A Chicago man remained in the Cook County Jail on Friday after prosecutors said he hijacked a CTA bus at gunpoint on Tuesday night, forced the driver to run red lights across the Southwest Side, and watched her escape through a window before he fled in a running pickup truck.

Quentin Lewis, 36, was charged with kidnapping, unlawful restraint, possession of a stolen vehicle and unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon, Chicago police said. Lewis, a convicted felon, appeared in court on Thursday, Nov. 5, for a detention hearing, where a judge ordered him held. He is due back in court on Nov. 10. The charges are allegations, and Lewis is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

A fare skipped, then a gun

Prosecutors said the ride began shortly after Lewis boarded bus number 8611 without paying, at about 8 p.m. Tuesday at Jackson Boulevard and Pulaski Road in the Garfield Park neighborhood. He rode south without incident for about two miles.

At Pulaski Road and 26th Street in Little Village, prosecutors said, Lewis spotted someone outside. When that person signaled for the driver to pull over, Lewis pointed a gun with an extended magazine at the person, who ran for cover. Lewis then sat directly behind the driver and demanded she go south on Pulaski Road, prosecutors said.

Over the next several minutes and more than three miles, Lewis allegedly stood and waved the gun around while ordering the driver to run four red lights, officials said. Chicago police placed the incident at about 8:24 p.m. in the 5400 block of South Pulaski Road. Other passengers were on board, the scene was captured on surveillance video, and no injuries were reported, police said.

An emergency lever, a window, and a running truck

As the bus neared 55th Street and Pulaski Road in the West Elsdon neighborhood, a passenger pulled the emergency lever, which stopped the bus, officials said. The two passengers ran off, leaving the 35 year old driver alone with Lewis. She climbed out through the driver's side window and ran toward another CTA bus for help, prosecutors said.

Lewis left the bus too and reached a nearby strip mall, where he got into a Dodge Ram that had been left running while its driver was inside a bakery, officials said. Police caught up with him there. FOX 32 Chicago reported that, as officers tried to take him into custody, Lewis put the vehicle in reverse and struck a marked Chicago police vehicle before he was arrested. Officers recovered a loaded Glock with one round in the chamber and an extended magazine from the Dodge, officials said. The driver and a witness later identified Lewis in a photo array, prosecutors said.

Police have not reported any injuries from the hijacking, the escape or the arrest. The case returns to court on Nov. 10.