From Newsweek · · 1m 30s
A 29-year-old pushed off a moving CTA train
Kyle Bickham was riding home from an overnight shift when he was thrown from a Red Line car, and his family still has no answers.
In brief
Kyle Bickham was riding home from an overnight shift when he was thrown from a Red Line car, and his family still has no answers. A teenager is charged with murder, but the question of how a moving train's door opened is still unanswered. Originally reported by Newsweek.
Killed on the Red Line
Kyle Bickham, 29, died on September 7 after three people pushed him from a moving CTA train near the 69th Street station around 2:40 p.m.
The third rail
Police say Bickham hit the electrified third rail after the fall, then was struck by an oncoming train. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
A 15-year-old charged
Chicago police charged a 15-year-old girl with first-degree murder, plus felony counts of mob action and assault of a transit employee. Two other suspects have not been named.
“We do not have any new information or updates. Area Two Detectives continue to investigate.”
How did the door open
Bickham's family wants to know how a side door could open mid-ride. The CTA has not publicly explained its safety procedures, the door mechanism, or any surveillance footage.
“How it was so easy to have that door open in the middle of a ride and my son be thrown off the train.”
Home from a night shift
Bickham was returning from an overnight shift at an Amazon facility in Cicero. He worked long hours, had a long commute, and had just moved into a new apartment.
“He was just trying to make an honest day's living, and this is what happened.”
What his family says
His father described a caring man who wrote poetry and doted on his nieces. His brother started a GoFundMe for the funeral. The teen returns to court Monday after being ordered held.
“Kyle was loved. Kyle mattered. His light will never be forgotten.”
At a glance
A teenager is charged with murder, but the question of how a moving train's door opened is still unanswered.
