CBS2: Semi Truck Crashes Into CTA Station; 2 Dead

Witnesses Say Truck Driver Appeared Unconcious At Time Of Crash

CHICAGO (CBS) ― Two people were killed when a semi truck crashed into the stairwell of a South Loop CTA Red Line station, according the fire department.

Twenty-one others were injured, including at least three children, in the accident at the Cermak/Chinatown station, a fire department spokesperson said.

Seven adults and three children are incritical condition. The fatalities were both female pedestrians.

The truck driver, a 51-year-old man, was taken to Stroger Hospital. His condition is unknown. Witnesses say the truck driver appeared unconcious at the time of the crash.
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Man almost "shanked" after girlfriend thinks he is a porn star

Porno movie dispute lands woman in jail

A woman is accused of chasing her boyfriend with a knife after thinking he was an actor in a pornographic movie they were watching together. The victim says it all started when he and his girlfriend were inside his southwest Albuquerque home watching a pornographic move at 10:30 Wednesday morning. That’s when the victim called 911 saying his girlfriend, 20-year-old Amanda Moya, had a knife. “She almost shanked me and everything. She put the (expletive) knife right under my throat," the victim told a 911 operator. -snip- Click here for entire story

Is this a case of life imitating art?

Not to make light of a serious story, but the story of the attacks on ABC7's Cheryl Burton and others on State Street reminded us of a skit from HBO's The Chris Rock Show. Its amazing how something which was a really funny skit on a sketch comedy show became a real life nightmare for many on State Street.

As always the hope is that all of the victims recover from this attack.

Ch. 7's Burton roughed up in Loop

'RANDOM ATTACK' | Man hurts at least 5 others

April 24, 2008

BY JENNIFER SABELLA Staff Reporter

At least six people, including WLS-Channel 7 anchor Cheryl Burton, were injured Wednesday evening when a man believed to be mentally ill struck them with his fist in the Loop, officials said.

Just after 7 p.m., police began receiving reports of people down at various locations downtown, police said.

Central District police said the man was using his fists to hit pedestrians near Washington and State streets, near the WLS station. Police also confirmed that Burton was injured.

The news anchor was on her dinner break when she was the "victim of a random attack," WLS assistant news director Janet Hundley said.

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The skit

Coming to the lineup: Metra stop at The Cell

Coming to the lineup: Metra stop at The Cell

April 7, 2008

BY GUY TRIDGELL Staff writer

White Sox fans clamoring for a Metra stop at The Cell, your wait is almost over.

Metra soon will begin seeking contractors to build a new station to serve U.S. Cellular Field and the Illinois Institute of Technology. Construction will start this summer. The station will open during the 2009 baseball season.

“We should start seeing some action there later this year,” Metra spokeswoman Meg Reile said.

The new Sox-IIT stop initially will serve the Rock Island District Line, a Joliet-to-Chicago route with stops in New Lenox, Mokena, Tinley Park, Oak Forest, Midlothian and Chicago’s Morgan Park and Beverly communities.
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Talk about dying hard

From the 3/10/08 North Lake Tahoe Bonanza "Crime Log":

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The deputy approached the vehicle to find Theresa Carbajal, 44, of Tahoe City, Calif., and a male companion arguing. He asked the two to step out of the car and Carbajal was visibly intoxicated.

Peterson said her male counterpart, who was electric-wheelchair bound, attempted a few "diversionary tactics" to distract the deputy while Carbajal attempted to stash something in her car.

The man made two threats to the deputy, first saying he would run the deputy over with his wheelchair. The man charged the deputy in his chair, and the deputy stepped up on a curb to avoid the man, Peterson said.

Next, the man threatened suicide by ingesting a full bottle of prescription Viagra.

"I'm not even sure if that could kill someone, but I'm sure it wouldn't be good," Peterson said.
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"Personal debauchery" at the Purple Hotel

A grand old partyer shatters stereotype

Levine airs his own dirty laundry in preemptive strike

April 1, 2008

BY MARK BROWN Sun-Times Columnist

I'm not sure I'll ever be able to look at a Republican the same way again. Nerdy, button-down North Shore lawyer Stuart Levine made sure of that Monday, proving again that nobody knows what goes on behind closed doors.

Levine, the key prosecution witness in the Tony Rezko trial and one of the state's most prolific GOP donors, gave a federal jury the most thorough account yet of his secret penchant for drug-fueled parties with an intimate group of male friends.
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Defense lawyers for Rezko contend it was Levine's determination to keep his "secret life" from being exposed that caused him to plead guilty and cooperate with federal investigators against Rezko, inventing lies in the process.

To make that theory work, the defense has sought permission to explore the sexual aspect of the parties, not just the drugs, but U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve has ruled that subject off limits. It's OK to probe Levine's drug use, she says, because of the possibility it has affected his memory.

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Click here for Brown's entire Chicago Sun-Times column

Levine describes closing on scheme

Over dinner and drinks, witness says, Rezko sold on $3.9 million windfall

By Jeff Coen and Bob Secter |Tribune reporters

April 1, 2008

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On the stand for a fifth day, Levine picked up where he left off before the trial took a weeklong spring break, describing more tawdry tales of both treachery and personal debauchery that moved from the refined atmosphere of the Standard Club to frequent drug binges at "The Purple Hotel" in Lincolnwood.
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Trying to beat Duffy to the punch Monday, prosecutors walked Levine through decades of drug abuse, which included everything from LSD to cocaine, crystal meth and even an animal tranquilizer known as ketamine.

Levine estimated he spent $1 million between 2000 and 2004 on drug parties. Sometimes, he said, he would fly to Springfield to snort away with friends at all-night hotel parties. More often, he said, he would meet with a regular group of five male friends at the garishly painted "Purple Hotel" in Lincolnwood, once part of the Hyatt chain and the scene of a grisly 1983 gangland slaying.

Levine said he was careful to hide his drug use from his family and business associates, but Rezko's lawyers hope to convince jurors that Levine's memory was impaired by all the illegal substances he ingested.
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Click here for entire Chicago Tribune story