What would you do if the doors of a bus shut on your hand when you were just about to get in? It’s not a stretch to think you would panic and try to free yourself. But what if, instead of noticing and stopping to help, the driver simply pulled away with your hand still trapped? One woman in Chicago says that’s exactly what happened to her when she tried to catch a city bus.
In her TikTok caption, the woman explained that the incident happened when she arrived at a bus stop and immediately followed closely after two other women boarding the bus. As she was getting on, the CTA driver suddenly shut the doors, trapping her left hand, and began to drive off with it still stuck. Fortunately, she managed to free her hand without serious injury once the bus had stopped.
A police officer later arrived at the scene to assess the situation. In the video the woman shared, a male passenger standing near the doorway could be heard speaking to the officer, saying he was worried about the victim and defending her side of the story. Filming from outside, the woman thanked him and called out the driver for laughing. “If I lost my hand, I don’t think you’d be laughing,” she said. She repeated that her hand was caught when the driver pulled away and added that she had to stop the bus so he would take responsibility. She also noted that another female passenger seemed more concerned with telling her to wait for the next bus instead of acknowledging what happened.
Here’s What Netizens Are Saying About the Chicago Bus Incident
Reactions were mixed in the comments, though many sided with the woman. One commenter urged her to send the video to CTA and also commended her “for standing [her] ground.” One other person was furious at the driver’s reaction, writing, “Nah that smirk and giggling would’ve sent me over the edge!!!! He needs to be FIRED!!!” Someone else even tagged the transit authority, saying, “@Chicago Transit Authority This guy needs to be fired.”
Some people questioned how the situation was handled. “That was a bus accident. Why was the driver able to leave? Why didn’t the ‘officer’ get you EMS??” one asked. Another, who said they had worked for CTA, wrote, “Call that 800 number… report the driver, get you a lawyer. They [sic] not supposed to drive off while you’re running for a bus. It’s in the rule book.”
A few netizens doubted her story, arguing it would have been difficult for the bus to move if her hand was really stuck. “First off 😭😭 if you [sic] hand gets closed in the door the door will reopen,” one person commented. Another added, “Impossible, the bus can’t move until the doors are fully closed and the rubber seal is soft so u could pulled [sic] ur hand out of the “shut doors”…..IF U WANTED TO..IJS🤔”
