Tuesday, March 24, 2009

And 2009 continues...

Was walking in Evanston; had crossed Chicago Ave at Dempster, and was about four shops in when I heard the unmistakable WHAM! of a large metal object hitting another. Whirled around to see an ambulance hitting one car after another, each of which in turn spun and hit another, WHAM WHAM WHAM. It seemed to go on forever. I ran to the intersection where others were also running, and looked at a scene out of an action film: five cars and the ambulance were all over the intersection, facing in all directions. Debris and glass littered the street.

People ran to the cars to check on the passengers. I went to the open window of one where a young woman sat holding her head. There was no blood, but she was shaken up. I dialed 911 to find they were already on their way.

Several members of the crowd had gathered around the ambulance driver, who had apparently been driving recklessly. They were yelling at him (I never thought I'd hear a white person say "motherfucker" in Evanston), and he responded by screaming, "I DON'T BELIEVE IN GOD!" and becoming so combative that several men just pushed him to the ground and held him there for the police to arrive. He seemed deranged.

Nobody was killed, but several were taken to the hospital. It was a mess. Some people said that the ambulance had been stolen and was being followed by undercover cops at a distance,which doesn't sound entirely fantastic, and would explain the quick notification of emergency crews.

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