COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — A man who ran down a Chicago street to catch a moving CTA bus is charged with punching the driver in the face once he got aboard.
Cezar Lopez, 39, ran alongside the bus Saturday night as it pulled away from the stop at Chicago Avenue and Morgan Street in River West, prosecutors said.
Lopez banged on the bus' window to get the driver's attention. The driver continued heading west on Chicago Avenue, looking for a place to pull over, prosecutors said.
When he found a spot, he pulled over and opened the door for Lopez, who began to argue with the driver, prosecutors said.
The driver ordered Lopez off the bus. Instead, Lopez walked toward the back without paying, prosecutors said.
When the driver raised an arm to stop him, Lopez spun around and punched the driver in the face, prosecutors said.
Other riders rushed to the driver's aid, and police were called, prosecutors said. Lopez, of the 1800 block of West Chicago, was charged with aggravated battery of a transit employee.
A Cook County judge set bail for Lopez at $50,000 when he appeared briefly in court on Monday.
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