From the Chicago Dispatcher, October 2007
Othman to the Rescue
Cabdriver Ali Othman saves a woman being attacked in Wicker Park
By: Jonathan Bullington
Cabdriver Ali Othman almost couldn't believe what he had seen.
It all started early in the morning of Sunday, July 29. The Wicker Park Music Festival had taken place the night before and the area around Milwaukee, Damen and North avenues was still dotted with random people winding down from the celebration.
Othman was heading southeast on Milwaukee looking for a fare when he noticed a man on the sidewalk approach a woman from behind and pick her up in a bear hug.
Thinking the two were just a couple playing around, he continued heading down Milwaukee where he was flagged down by a passenger on the other side of the street near the 7-11 convenient store on Milwaukee and Wolcott. Othman made a quick U-turn, picked up the passenger (who told Othman to refer to him as “the Irishman”) and started back northwest on Milwaukee heading towards Webster and Leavitt.
As Othman back-tracked up Milwaukee, he saw the same two people from before, except this time, the “playful couple” looked anything but playful or a couple.
“I saw the guy open his passenger door and throw her in as she was fighting,” he said.
“What really caught me was when he threw her in the car, her head hit hard against the top of the door.”
Now Othman started to worry. He slowed down, keeping one eye on the road and one eye on the two people in his rearview mirror. Stopped at a light, he watched as the man closed the passenger door, ran around to the driver's side, jump in the car and grab the woman in a headlock to stop her from trying to exit.
“I asked the Irishman if he saw that?” Othman recalled, but his passenger was unaware of what had transpired moments earlier.
Othman, now realizing action needed to be taken, told his passenger that he “had to check this out” and reversed his cab to block the man's car from leaving. Othman then honked his horn at the man and rolled his window down to ask what was happening.
“The guy looked at my car first. He probably thought I was a cop,” Othman remembered.
With Othman's cab in front of him, the man put his hands up and told Othman everything was fine, yet Othman said the woman in the passenger seat was crying and shaking.
“She looked panicked,” he said.
Othman opened his door to walk over to the car. As he did so, the woman threw open the passenger door and ran around the back of the man's car to jump in the backseat of Othman's cab. Both Othman and the Irishman were asking her if she was all right and if she knew the guy who threw her in his car; however, the woman was too terrified to respond. Finally, after their fifth inquiry, she said for them to “please get me out of here.”
“She said she didn't know him and that he tried to attack her,” Othman said.
While Othman and the Irishman were attending to the woman, the man was able to get his car around Othman's cab and sped off on Milwaukee. Othman reacted quickly, jumping in his cab to pursue the alleged attacker. What transpired seemed straight out of a Hollywood action film.
The man, driving a dark Lexus, made a quick right on Damen, heading northbound. Othman, having been stopped by the stoplight at that intersection, knew he couldn't loose sight of the Lexus, so he honked his horn rapidly and went through the light to continue his pursuit of the Lexus. Othman watched his speedometer reach 70 mph as he followed the man up Damen, east on Wabansia (at which point Othman phoned the police), south on Wood and then east on North Avenue.
When they reached the intersection of North and Ashland avenues, Othman saw the man take his Lexus onto the curb by the Hollywood Grill and stop at the red light.
Meanwhile, Othman moved over to the left turn lane, effectively hiding his cab behind the other cars at the intersection. Right before the light changed, Othman watched the man accelerate through the intersection and onto westbound Interstate 90.
“My cab had just passed inspection,” Othman remembered. “It was running smooth. Those police interceptors have plenty of power.”
Othman followed the Lexus onto I-90, all while speaking with Chicago Police and then Illinois State Police. Othman continued to trail as the man exited on Damen, turned west on Webster and then north on Seeley.
“He must have thought Seeley was a dead end,” Othman said, “because he stopped and backed into a parking spot on Seeley.”
As Othman was on the phone with police, urging them to hurry because “we've got him blocked off,” he watched the man exit his Lexus and approach Othman's window.
“I cracked my window open and he asked me why I was chasing him,” Othman said. “I asked him if he was serious.”
At this point, both Othman and the Irishman exited the cab and prepared themselves to subdue the alleged attacker. Just then, several police cars roared to the scene. The police took the alleged attacker into custody and questioned Othman, the Irishman and the woman. At first, Othman remembered, the woman didn't want to press charges, instead wishing only to go home. But, as she calmed down, she decided to go through with filing charges.
Finally, after answering every question, Othman took the Irishman and the woman in his cab to take them home. They dropped the Irishman off first. Othman then proceeded to head towards the woman's house, but was stopped when she realized her necklace was missing. So, Othman and the woman went to the police station at California and Shakespeare to report the missing necklace before returning to where the attack occurred to search for it there. Unable to locate her necklace, Othman instead took the woman to her house, stopping to get gas and to buy her a candy bar and water. Once home, Othman stayed outside with the woman for roughly a half hour making sure she was OK.
While they were talking, Othman learned that the woman was trying to flag down a cab when the man approached her and told her he was a cabdriver. When she said no thank you to him and started walking away, that's when the man grabbed her.
“She said she thought that was it for her, when he had her in his car,” Othman recalled.
“I just wanted to get this guy,” Othman said. “I have sisters, a mom, aunts. Plus, as a Muslim too, I knew this was the right thing to do. Everything was happening so fast - instinct took over.”
“People are always putting cabdrivers down,” Othman continued. “I just did what I had to do as a citizen.”
October Cabbie of the Month
The Chicago Dispatcher is pleased to announce Ali Othman as Cabbie of the Month for October, 2007. Ali will receive dinner for two at Shaw's Chicago, a Lettuce Entertain You restaurant.
Congratulations Ali!
