Man recalls witnessing friend killed, 3 others hurt after vehicle crashes into CTA bus stop

CHICAGO (WLS) -- One person was killed and three others were hurt when a vehicle crashed into a CTA bus stop on the city's South Side, Chicago police said.

Police said the crash happened on Sunday at about 11:18 a.m. near the 79th Street and King Drive intersection in Chatham.

A 57-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. Two women, 64 and 23 years old, and a male person of unknown age were transported to the University of Chicago Medical Center in unknown conditions.

The man was well-known in the Chatham community.

In fact, neighbors say he always hung out daily at the very bus stop where he was killed.

"Everybody loved him around the neighborhood," said Shawn Caples, a witness and friend of the victim. "He was a cool guy. He didn't mess with nobody. He stayed to himself. He did what he had to do, go to work, maybe hang up under here, talk to a few people."

Remnants of a sudden deadly crash remain just steps away from Caples' apartment where he saw his close friend run over and killed at a place they hung out at for years.

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"I just looked out the window and seen him come into the pavement," Caples recalled. "God must've told me, 'Stay in the house,' because it could've been me."

Exclusive surveillance video from a nearby BP gas station shows the moment when police say a driver hit multiple people sitting at a bus stop. ABC7 has frozen the video before the deadly impact.

"The people were already yelling, 'Help! Help,'" Caples said.

Then, Caples saw the driver.

"He got on his knees and was praying for the people, and he didn't look drunk. It looked like something else caused that accident," Caples said.

You can see the driver helping people from under the debris in the security video.

The Cook County Medical Examiner's Officer has yet to identify the 57-year-old victim.

However, police said the driver was arrested and charges are pending.

CTA confirmed that a non-CTA vehicle struck the bus shelter and said the #3 bus has been temporarily rerouted to avoid the area.

The CPD Major Accident Investigation Unit is investigating. Authorities did not immediately provide further information about the incident.