Taxi driver cited after car jumps downtown curb, at least 3 injured

A Chicago taxicab driver was accused of negligent driving Thursday after his vehicle went in reverse, jumped a curb at a busy crosswalk near Union Station, and struck a light pole and at least two pedestrians during the Thursday morning rush.

Two female pedestrians were treated and released from hospitals for injuries that at first appeared serious. A female passenger in the cab refused treatment at the scene.

The accident happened shortly before 8 a.m. when the taxi's driver put the cab in reverse and backed into the pedestrians on the sidewalk, said Chicago police Sgt. Antoinette Ursitti.

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The driver, Brian Duako, 38, of Chicago was cited with negligent driving. He was getting out of his taxi when he noticed it was in reverse. His leg got caught between his vehicle and another cab, and he hit the accelerator instead of the brake, Ursitti said.

Duako was in good condition at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he was taken with a serious leg injury, officials said.

Schuyler Pepin, 14, said he was selling newspapers on the street nearby when he saw the taxi driver apparently arguing with a driver in another cab.

Pepin said the driver of the taxi that crashed appeared to be attempting to put his cab in park, and had the driver's-side door open as if he were going to get out of the vehicle.

Pepin said it seemed that "he thought he put it in park, but he had it in reverse."

The cab then moved quickly in reverse over the curb and hit the pedestrians on the sidewalk, the teen said.

A woman who answered the phone at Chicago Carriage Cab, the company name on the cab towed from the scene, said the company had no comment.

The crosswalk where the crash occurred is just west of a bridge over the Chicago River and near an exit from Union Station, a busy Amtrak and commuter train station. The area was jammed with pedestrians during the morning rush hour at the time of the crash.