Suit: CTA bus driver assaulted passenger

A man filed a lawsuit Friday against the Chicago Transit Authority alleging that a bus driver beat him last year when the bus was stopped in the Southwest Side Chicago Lawn neighborhood.

Julius Hope filed the lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court stating that between 10 p.m. and midnight on March 15, 2015, he got on the No. 52 CTA bus traveling southbound on South Kedzie Avenue towards West 63rd Street, according to the lawsuit.

When the bus made a stop across from a Walgreens at 6315 S. Kedzie Ave., the driver called Hope to the front. “The driver then proceeded to beat him up and punched him throughout his body, face and head,” the suit said.

As a result, he suffered permanent damages including medical and health care expenses, disability and pain and suffering, the suit said.

The suit alleges that the CTA did not “exercise the highest duty of care and caution for the safety of its passengers.” It alleges that in addition to the assault, the CTA failed to do a background check on the driver and to adequately train the driver.

“We have not had a chance to review the lawsuit and are unable to comment on pending litigation,” said Catherine Hosinksi, a spokeswoman for the CTA.

The one-count lawsuit seeks at least $50,000 in damages.