A pedicab driver with six years on the job in Chicago might never work around Wrigley Field again after a party bus slammed into her Saturday. Police did not bring charges against the driver for hitting the pedicab driver, according to Block Club Chicago.
Around 12:15 a.m. Sunday the driver of a multicolored party bus hit two parked cars before slamming into the pedicab—complete with driver—and driving away. Sarah Yopp, the pedicab driver in question, told Block Club Chicago what happened:
“I was in front of the van at this point and put my hand out asking the driver to just let me back up,” Yopp said. “It happened so quickly and he just hit me.”
The video, captured by witness Marisol Santos, shows the van ramming into Yopp and her bike, pushing them both to the side as Yopp was thrown to the ground.
“I was in shock,” Yopp said. “I wasn’t bleeding from my head and didn’t have a massive break, but when I got home, I realized I had a concussion. I also have a huge knot on my back, a black eye and raccoon eyes, which is a symptom of a major head injury.”
Yopp said the police told her they couldn’t do anything for her unless she went to the hospital, so she went home instead before realizing she had suffered a concussion.
Officers later gave Yopp a police report after Rollins had been arrested, but Yopp said she was confused why the man wasn’t charged with crashing into her.
“I could have been killed, and it felt like the police didn’t want to help me at all,” Yopp said. “How did they let him off after he hit me?”
Warning, this video may be upsetting to some readers:
Police later caught up with the party bus and identified the driver as Bryan Rollins. Rollins was charged with “...charged with two misdemeanor counts of driving under the influence, police said. He also faces four traffic violations, including operating an uninsured vehicle, failure to carry or display a driver’s license, failure to report an accident, and failure to keep in his lanes,” according to the Block Club.
It sure seems like police could have also charged Rollins with at least aggravated assault rather than talking the victim into going home. From the Illinois General Assembly statue, a person is committing aggravated assault when:
Without justification operates a motor vehicle in a manner which places a person, other than a person listed in subdivision (b)(4), in reasonable apprehension of being struck by the moving motor vehicle.
That seems like a low bar to clear. Yopp is still recovering from her serious injuries. Her sister set up a GoFundMe to cover the cost of a new pedicab as well as living expenses while she heals.
We’ve reached out to the Chicago Police Department and will update this story if we here back.