Evidence backs stroller mom's story, police, CTA say

A mark on a CTA guard rail and traces of paint on a baby stroller appear to support a mother’s story that the stroller was caught in the doors of a train Monday, striking the rail and throwing her toddler onto the gravel track bed, police and CTA officials said today.

A union official representing the train conductor in the case questioned Ebere Ozonwu’s story, wondering why the stroller appeared to be undamaged after it was allegedly dragged by a train at the Morse Red Line L station.

“It appears the stroller does have a paint transfer from the guard rail,” said Chicago police officer John Mirabelli. “The mother’s version of the story is plausible.”

CTA spokeswoman Sheila Gregory said a “fresh mark” on the guard rail matches what’s on the stroller. The CTA is interviewing a witness and looking to interview another.

Ozonwu had dashed up the stairs at the station holding a stroller and asking that the train be held, according to witnesses on the stairs. She told police the train’s doors closed on the stroller in which her daughter Rachel sat, unstrapped. The stroller tipped over, and Rachel was thrown onto the track bed, alongside the rails.

Witnesses heard Ozonwu’s screams and came up to the platform to help. Ozonwu jumped onto the tracks and handed the baby to a witness. The baby was released Tuesday evening from Children’s Memorial Hospital.

Robert Kelly, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 308, had questioned why the stroller showed no signs of damage and why it was not turned in until five stops south. There is no camera at the Morse station to record the incident.

Initial CTA tests show the rail car’s doors were functioning properly, meaning they have sensitive edges and should open in response to pressure.

But CTA specifications require that they open on encountering a two-inch-wide block, not a one-inch wide block, so a narrow object like a stroller handle could get trapped by the doors.

Through her union, the operator has said that she did not notice anything caught in the train doors.