CHICAGO, ILLINOIS- Apparently New York City isn’t the only place where someone risks their life merely by waiting for a subway train. According to International Business Times (IBT), a 39-year-old man thought it wise to kick a woman onto train tracks in Chicago while she was waiting for a CTA train to arrive.
Ashley Goss was arrested by Chicago police after he pushed the woman, 23-year-old Priscilla Rodriguez, onto the CTA Red Line tracks around 9:30 am on Tuesday, December 20 as a train was bearing down on the station, as reported by WTTW News.
According to authorities, Goss pushed Rodriguez for no apparent reason, causing her to fall head-first onto the tracks. They noted she barely missed getting electrocuted by the third rail on the tracks. Thankfully, Rodriguez was able to gain her footing and rushed into an area between two different sets of tracks to avoid getting struck by the approaching train.
“I felt like, a big push on my back. At first, I thought like, I can’t believe this is happening,” Rodriguez told a CBS-2 reporter. “I fell down and I got up super quick. I don’t even know [how] I got up that fast.”
“It’s just crazy that I did like a flip in midair—and it’s like—it was just surreal,” she continued.
She also noted that she was not acquainted with Goss in any way.
She said that while she was standing in between the train tracks, she saw Goss and said she was blaming her for falling onto the tracks.
“He was just saying it was my fault; I tried to commit suicide,” Rodriguez said during the interview. “He called me the ‘B’ word for no reason; tried to convince people on the platform, because there was other people on the same platform as me.”
Video obtained by CWB Chicago showed Goss, dressed in all black, emerge from the escalator area, stop for a split second, then turn and run up to Rodriguez as the train approached and pushing her onto the tracks from behind.
According to CBS-2, Rodriguez suffered a cut to her forehead and was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital as a precaution.
Chicago police used surveillance footage from the station and Chicago Avenue and were able to track down Goss, who also goes by the name of Donald Jackson, at a Taco Bell. He was arrested shortly after the attack.
At a Wednesday court hearing, it was revealed that Goss has a long criminal history over 20 years, and has been involved in at least two aggravated battery incidents, ABC-7 reported, with one of those incidents involving a police officer.
“Why is this guy not locked up? Why isn’t this guy somewhere longer? Why isn’t he watched more?” Rodriguez asked rhetorically. “Why is he still out doing this to people?”
At his court appearance, Goss faced charges of first-degree attempted murder and he was held without bond. The court mandated a mental health evaluation to check if the suspect is fit to stand for trial.
Last month, a Chicago chef was seriously injured when ye was pushed onto the Blue Line tracks at around 9:00 p.m., Chicago police said.
Jose Duran suffered multiple injuries to his face and head, which required numerous surgeries, including putting a plate in the side of his head and wiring his jaw shut.
In that case, Chicago police arrested Cory Patterson, charging him with attempted murder as well as four felony counts of aggravated battery upon a police officer.
The latter charges stem from Patterson head-butting a police officer while being searched. He then spit on one officer, tried to bite others and pushed a third officer while being fingerprinted. Patterson was held without bail, according to a Cook County State’s Attorney spokesperson. There was no motive for the attack.
Duran’s friends have set up a GoFundMe to raise $100,000 for medical bills and other expenses while he’s out of work.
Earlier this year, a 28-year-old Joliet, Illinois man was arrested after pushing a rider off a Blue Line platform near Chicago’s West Side and onto the tracks.
James Stamps was shown on video pushing the victim off the edge of the Illinois Medical District Blue Line Platform in the early morning on Aug. 5, Fox News reported.
Video released by authorities showed the suspect and victim passing each other on the platform, when for no apparent reason Stamps reached out and shoved the victim onto the train tracks below the platform.
The victim, who was not identified, was treated at a local Chicago hospital and released, WLS-TV reported citing a police report. Stamps was charged with one count of aggravated battery, Chicago police said.
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