Chicago Firsts!

[jwaiter]

First, and I hope only, time I was within 40 feet of a homicide.

[emathias]

I had a first last night.

I was on the Brown Line headed toward Kimball, just about to Kedzie and it stopped for a "medical emergency." Only it didn't pull into the station. My partner and I were just sort of looked at each other and I said, "If it was a normal emergency, they'd pull into the station - I bet the train hit someone."

And, sadly, I was right. We waited about 15 minutes until the fire department came through to evacuate the train. I asked the fireman showing us out if it'd hit someone and he hesitated, I think unsure as to whether I was asking of some sort of sick fetishization of the accident (I wasn't, I was just curious) and then just said, "Yes."

We exited with our bikes (taking bikes between cars is kinda tricky) and there were about 6 fire engines and ambulances. I don't think anyone other than the idiot biker (he ran the gates, so sensitivity be damned, he was an idiot) was hurt because the train didn't screech to a halt or anything.

We just rode our bikes home, cautiously.

Respect train signals, folks.

You see his bike in this story:
News Story about it

And here's the guy's facebook page photo of his bike last winter:
Ronayne Thomas Facebook pic of his bike

Eerie.

[BleedCubbieBlue]

Wow. Reading this i'm thinking to myself "people actually grow up WITHOUT all of these things?" Born and raised in the city. Been riding CTA since i was a kid. So really i guess all of those things were my 'firsts" as well. But those all sound like pretty normal things in a big city. I cant imagine a town with no bums? i would be a lot more scared out in a lonely town with no neighbors next to me.