The Chicago Transit Authority, known in the city as the CTA, will not be held responsible for the tragic death of Felon Smith, a 37-year-old woman who was killed by a Red Line train in 2019. Smith had gone onto the tracks at the 69th Street Red Line station in Englewood to retrieve her cellphone when she was struck by the oncoming train, as reported by the Sun-Times. An appellate court upheld the earlier decision that found the CTA not liable for her death.
In addition to the ruling absolving the CTA of liability, the appellate court also found that the CTA was not liable for the actions of security guard Fabeous Dowd and AGB Investigative Services, companies that were not included in the appeal. Smith, a mother of two daughters, was pronounced dead at the scene following the incident. Her bereaved family has faced further tragedy with the loss of her 15-year-old son, Sincere Cole, who was shot and killed in 2022, detailed in the same Sun-Times report.
Shearal Cole, Smith's husband, had filed a lawsuit against the CTA, its conductor Philip Hamilton, AGB Investigative Services, and Dowd following Smith's death. Cole claimed Hamilton was negligent in his operation of the train and that he should've seen Smith on the tracks to prevent the accident. "The only duty that a landowner typically owes to a trespasser is to refrain from willfully and wantonly injuring them," reads the appellate decision, meaning that owners aren't required to anticipate unlawful or unexpected individuals on their property, according to NBC Chicago.
The summary judgment motion argued by the CTA and Hamilton, which resulted in the decision without trial, stated they had "no duty whatsoever owed to a trespasser" and asserted that Smith's death was a consequence of her own choices. Video evidence and testimony showed Hamilton reacting promptly upon spotting Smith on the tracks and his cooperation with emergency responders. This factored into the court's decision to not hold the CTA and Hamilton liable, as per statements obtained from the NBC Chicago coverage of the ruling.
