CTA bus driver helps dying man after Back of the Yards shooting

A 43-year-old man who was shot Sunday night boarded a CTA bus and its driver sped from the scene, called 911 and waited with him until help arrived in the Back of the Yards neighborhood.

The victim, who later died at a hospital, was at a bus stop at 55th and Halsted streets about 9:50 p.m. when a gunman walked up to him and shot him in his abdomen, according to a Chicago police report.

The 43-year-old was able to board the bus, where he collapsed and its driver sped south to 59th and Halsted, where she called 911, according to the report.

An ambulance took the victim to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where the unidentified man was pronounced dead at 10:21 p.m., according to the report.

The bus driver saw the shooter run in front of her bus before fleeing in a white SUV, the report said.

A 52-year-old passenger told the Chicago Sun-Times he was seated in the back of the bus and was listening to music when he heard “at least five or six shots.”

The passenger, who declined to be identified because of safety concerns, then saw the victim get on and sit behind the driver before falling down.

“He got on the bus, he set his bag on the bus, next thing you know I look up and he’s on the ground,” the passenger said. “He was on his face, on his knees, and I’m like, ‘Wow, that’s crazy.'”

Hours later, the passenger was still shaken up by the incident.

“It’s messing me up because I literally saw the man get on the bus, and now he’s dead,” the passenger said.

A representative for the CTA said in a brief statement they were “working closely with CPD as they investigate this matter, including providing any relevant security camera footage.”

No one was in custody.