A predawn crash in the Loop sent a Chicago Transit Authority K-9 security guard to the hospital early Wednesday, after a CTA SUV and another vehicle collided and one of them ended up in a planter outside the Harold Washington Library. Police said the other driver took off running.
Crash details
Around 3:31 a.m., a 33-year-old man was driving a white Ford SUV north on State Street at Ida B. Wells Drive when it hit a Cadillac that was speeding west and ran a red light, according to CBS Chicago. Video from the scene shows the Ford was a CTA K-9 security unit, and the Cadillac came to rest in a planter alongside the Harold Washington Library.
The security guard behind the wheel of the CTA vehicle suffered trauma in the crash and was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital. Police said the Cadillac's driver fled the scene on foot.
CTA K-9 patrols and security context
The CTA says it operates K-9 security teams and has increased canine hours as part of recent security surges, deploying the teams on missions such as daily Code of Conduct patrols, according to the agency's security page. Those K-9 units work alongside additional Chicago Police Department patrol hours and an extensive camera network meant to keep closer tabs on downtown transit corridors.
Loop collisions are not new
Crashes involving city or agency vehicles have been popping up in the Loop in recent months. In late April, an SUV struck a marked CPD squad car and injured two officers in what one outlet described as dawn chaos as SUV slams CPD squad car. Local coverage has repeatedly pointed to early-morning driving at busy downtown intersections as a stubborn safety concern.
Investigation
Officers remained at the scene early Wednesday as investigators worked the intersection. No names had been released and no charges announced as of the latest update, according to CBS Chicago. Further details were not immediately available.
