ROGERS PARK — A 69-year-old man using the Park and Ride garage at the Howard Street CTA station was ambushed in a stairwell by someone who knocked him out, stole his keys and drove off with his car, police said.
The still-unidentified robber avoided the CTA surveillance cameras in the stairwell when he cracked the man over his head, but he was caught on camera waiting for his victim in the minutes before the Sept. 15 attack.
When the victim regained consciousness, he realized his wallet, cellphone, car keys and house keys were gone. And when he walked back to the garage's third floor, where he had just parked, he saw his car was gone, police said.
A CTA employee called police for the man, who told investigators he was ambushed in the stairwell of the garage at 7519 N. Paulina St., which is attached to the sprawling Howard Street bus and "L" depot.
He told officers he’d been in the stairwell between the second and first floors when he was punched in his face, hit with something across the head and knocked unconscious, according to police.
A video surveillance camera captured footage of the apparent attacker waiting in the stairwell, according to police. When the victim passed the cameras on the way down the stairs, the attacker ran down the stairs behind him, left the coverage area of the camera for several moments, then was seen running back up the stairs to the third floor and exiting the stairwell, police said.
The victim was treated at St. Francis Hospital in Evanston and released. No arrests have been made in the case and the investigation continues.
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