Taxi Crashes Into House, Driver Takes Off
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Police in Glendale Heights were searching for a cab driver who crashed his taxi through the wall of a house early Monday, and then ran off.
The tax crashed into a home in the 1800 block of Gregory Avenue around 1 a.m. Monday.
"I guess the car came around the corner, ended up crashing through the bedroom window, and took the bed from where it was, pushed it all the way over to the other end of the room," homeowner Ryan Girsch said.
He had just moved out of his parents' house one day before. His father was sleeping on the other side of the wall that came down in the crash, and he was taken to the hospital. Ryan's father Shawn suffered some broken ribs, a tear in his spleen and a sore leg.. He was expected to pull through. Ryan's mother was about to enter the bedroom at the time of the crash, and narrowly escaped injuries.
"I lived here for I don't know how many years, and then the one day I leave, something like this happens, and I'm not here to do anything about it," Ryan said.
Ryan's father and his dog both were trapped for a while under the debris. The dog was not hurt.
"He was laying on bed, and the treadmill that was in the room fell on top of him, and then the car ended up landing on top of the treadmill," Ryan said. "Who knows how much [difference] a few more inches to one side would have made, or if the guy would have just happened to crash into the wall a little bit further over. I mean, it could have meant all the difference walking away or not."
The cab driver fled the scene after the crash. Shawn says he saw the driver before he ran from the scene.
"There was a big chunk of wall laying on top of me and I tried to get that off and I asked for help and he just sat there and just stared at me," Shawn Grisch said.
All things considered, Shawn says he's lucky to be alive.
"It's good to be above ground, you know it could've been a lot worse," he said.
The cab is owned by Flat Rate Cabs, based in Lombard. Police have been in contact with the company to track down the driver. The victim's wife also was providing a description of the driver to police sketch artists.
"They have identified a person who was assigned that vehicle, but we have not identified that person as driver," Glendale Heights Police Deputy Chief Steve Ewoldt said.
An employee at the cab company tells CBS 2 the cab was leased to a driver who they haven't heard from since Saturday at 10 a.m. and he didn't show up for work on Sunday.
The driver's boss, Toni Diperte, says she has a few things to say to him.
"First of all, he's fired," Diperte tells CBS 2's Mike Parker.
Police have not yet determined what caused the cabbie to crash into the house.
Bloomingdale Fire Protection District battalion chief Richard Kurka said village officials were assessing damage to the house.
"Buildings department is taking a look at it now. Once the car is removed from the wall, they'll get a better idea just what the damage is to the house, and how long the occupant will be relocated," he said.
Kurka said he's hopeful the damage is not so severe the house will be uninhabitable. No gas or water lines were ruptured in the crash.
The cab has since been towed away, and the damaged wall of the house has been boarded up.