FedEx employee rushes in to help driver after South Side Chicago crash
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A car crashed into a West Englewood neighborhood apartment building early Thursday and did some serious damage – and a FedEx driver headed to work rushed in to help rescue the man behind the wheel.
We know the man injured in the crash came to the University of Chicago Medical Center by ambulance. It is not clear what made him lose control – but the FedEx employee is credited with making sure he was OK.
The silver Acura lost control on Thursday morning – giving Lakesha Williams an unexpected wake-up.
"I hear the boom, then my bed shook," Williams said.
She stepped onto the porch of her West Englewood apartment building in disbelief.
"It was smoking," Williams said. "The firefighters came. We smelled gas. Of course, it's leaking gas."
Yet before firefighters arrived to the intersection of Garfield Boulevard and Damen Avenue, a FedEx employee in the neighborhood was determined to make sure the trapped driver was safe.
She even got a brick to break in through the car window.
"She was like, 'Help, like, we've got to get these doors unlocked!'" Williams said.
Chicago Police told us the 20-year-old driver rear-ended one vehicle and knocked over a light pole, narrowly missing the FedEx worker.
"I heard her saying, 'He almost hit me,'" Williams said.
The car stopped only after crashing into the building where Williams lives.
Terry: "What does it say about this FedEx driver who in all she was enduring - that she had compassion for whoever was in the car?"
Williams: "And she almost got hit - so her heart is good, her intentions and everything were good, and she looked like she had tears in her eyes, because I guess it was so – it was close to her."
Airbags deployed, and the only person injured was the driver – who was rushed to the U of C Medical Center. But after police cleared the scene, there was another problem left.
"He hit it awfully hard," said Williams. "It's a brick building. For him to shift the foundation like this, yeah, that was scary."
The porch is now leaning, and the cracks all through the brick are visible. City inspectors told Williams the building is safe - but she is still uneasy.
But Williams and others are thankful for the actions of the FedEx employee who was determined to help out.
"Once she found out he was OK, it relieved her a little bit," said Williams. "And she was like, God bless y'all, y'all have a safe day.'"
Williams and other witnesses have not seen the FedEx employee since, and there has not been an update on the man brought to the hospital. We know he was alert when he got in the ambulance.