Woman says man kept on yelling at her after kicking her onto Red Line tracks
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A woman was kicked onto the CTA Red Line subway tracks earlier this week, and incredibly, she survived.
The woman, Prisilla Rodriguez, was kicked onto the Chicago Transit Authority tracks at the Chicago Avenue and State Street Red Line stop on the Near North Side at 9:33 a.m. Tuesday.
As CBS 2's Sabrina Franza reported, Rodriguez's story is really remarkable. She was pushed onto the tracks just as a train was pulling in.
The train stopped just in time. Meanwhile, Rodriguez somehow did not touch the third rail.
"I still didn't think it was real," Rodriguez said. "I was like, this didn't happen to me. This didn't happen to me."
Rodriguez is now home safe after being kicked onto the tracks. She was kicked by a man she says she does not know.
"I felt, like, a big push on my back. At first, I thought like, I can't believe this is happening," Rodriguez said. "I fell down and I got up super-quick. I don't even know I got up that fast."
Surveillance video CBS 2 is working to obtain showed Rodriguez flipping through the air – and narrowly missing the third rail.
"I flipped - and then I saw the video today," Rodriguez said. "It's just crazy that I did like a flip in midair - and it's like – it was just surreal."
Meanwhile, a train was bearing down. A CTA operator stopped it just in time.
Standing between the tracks, Rodriguez's glasses were knocked off – and Rodriguez couldn't even see her assailant.
"That's when I saw - I just saw his figure, and I knew he was like wearing dark colors," she said.
But Rodriguez could hear the man who pushed her. She said he stayed on the platform to shout at her.
"He was just saying it was my fault; I tried to commit suicide," Rodriguez said. "He called me the B word for no reason; tried to convince people on the platform, because there was other people on the same platform as me."
Prosecutors and police say the 39-year-old suspect goes by two names – Donald Jackson and Ashley Goss.
In court on Wednesday, prosecutors outlined a lengthy criminal history – including multiple convictions for battery offenses.
The suspect is now charged with first-degree attempted murder.
"Why is this guy not locked up? Why isn't this guy somewhere longer? Why isn't he watched more?" Rodriguez said. "Why is he out still doing this to people?"
In bond court Wednesday, Jackson/Goss was ruled a safety risk to the community and was ordered held without bail. The court also ordered a mental health check.
His next court date is Wednesday, Dec. 28.
