Caught On Video: Semi-Trailer Truck Driver Knocks Down Road Sign, Plows Into Multiple Cars On Southwest Side
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A semi-trailer truck driver plowed into dozens of cars while traveling several miles across the city's Southwest Side this week, before police eventually stopped him in suburban Bedford Park.
As CBS 2 Investigator Megan Hickey reported, people were still cleaning up the damage Tuesday night in the Clearing neighborhood.
The truck driver knocked over a street sign on 63rd Street, which ironically bans any trucks over 5 tons from the road. But the driver kept going, crushing a line of cars on Normandy Avenue.
It was all caught on camera.
"There were still cars on the road, but not as busy as it normally would be," said Joanne Maganna, who witnessed the crashes.
John Galace has been parking his family's three cars next to his house for two decades. On Monday morning, he woke up to see them all damaged after the truck smashed into them.
"I use it for shopping and everything. I use it for picking up my grandkids," he said, "and now it's all useless."
The semi crunched over Galace's car, and it was left underneath the truck.
"I saw the video," he said.
A driver who lives in the neighborhood snapped a video of truck after it smashed into several cars on 63rd Street, and then took an ill-fated right turn.
"The car was parked like one car length away - pushes my car, pushes my van, and then this van hit my RAV4 over here - it's not there right now," Galace said.
"I thought it was like a lightning bolt," said Maganna. "That's how it was it was. It was, boom!"
Maganna was woken up by the sound of crunching metal. Her Ring doorbell camera from around 6:30 a.m. Monday. At least two other crashes are audible afterward.
"We see the whole car like as he sideswiped it, it bounced, like he literally jerked the whole car up - like it picked up and bounced; hit the other car," Maganna said.
"I was wondering what happened to him," added Galace. "At first, (I thought) he must have have a medical condition or something."
Bedford Park police said they picked up the 30-year-old truck driver about five miles away in a Walmart parking lot where he also damaged property.
He was charged with a hit-and-run, possession of a controlled substance, driving under the influence, and having no proof of insurance.
Police tell us the driver was so out of it when they interviewed him that it's still unclear whether he was working at the time.
"You should be thankful that you were not inside the truck," Galace said.
The driver's license plate is linked to a Manteno company while the truck itself had the name of a Crestwood logistics company - neither of which responded to our request for comment Tuesday night.
The driver is only facing charges in Bedford Park right now. Police there said they referred this case to Chicago Police.
As of Tuesday evening, the CPD said they did not have a police report generated.