Police: Shots Fired At Snow Plow Driver In Chicago
Shots were fired at a Chicago Streets & Sanitation Department snow plow driver by another driver Sunday afternoon, according to police.
According to WLS-TV, the worker was driving along West Lake Street and North Kostner Avenue in the West Garfield Park neighborhood before shots rang out. The other driver involved in the incident started shooting at the plow driver because the plow driver was apparently driving too slow, the plow driver told police.#Snowplow News: Shots fired at #Chicago snow #plow driver https://t.co/319ve13FXB pic.twitter.com/Cd61JGvzak
— CentralPartsWarehse (@Central_Parts) February 15, 2016
Shot fired after altercation with snow plow driver https://t.co/9sBYIdY758
— NBC Chicago (@nbcchicago) February 15, 2016
Kostner and Lake, snowplow driver reporting he was shot at by a black Tahoe. #ChicagoScanner
— Eric Tendian (@EricTendian) February 14, 2016
After the shooting, the driver of a dark-colored SUV quickly sped away from the scene. Fortunately, no one was hurt though. According to NBC Chicago, a description of the male driver of the SUV, who is said to be in his twenties, is not available at this time. Also, anyone who witnessed the incident are asked to come forward to provide more detailed information.
In the meantime, Chicago police are currently investigating the incident. Stay tuned for the latest updates on this breaking story.
UPDATE: Weather In Chicago
Snow plows were out on full force Sunday due to snow that started to fall early in the afternoon. According to Weather Underground, there was some accumulation in the West Garfield Park area and temperatures remained in the teens all day long. It was definitely cold enough for snow to pile up on the roads that’s for sure.
Stay tuned for more updates on this story.
LATEST UPDATE: Second Time A Snow Plow Driver Has Been Shot At While Cleaning Streets
This is not the first time a snow plow driver has been shot at while cleaning city streets. In fact, in late January of this year, a Massachusetts snow plow driver was shot at three times by an angry drunk driver. Fortunately, no one was hurt in that incident.
Apparently, the incident started when driver Bruce O’Brien was driving directly behind the snow plow. He complained to police that the plow was not removing any snow at all and the flashing lights were bothering him. O’Brien then flashed his lights at the plow before it eventually pulled itself over. However, he and a witness said the plow swerved towards his Jeep and that’s when he took matters into his own hands.
O’Brien took one of his loaded pistols out from his Jeep console and fired three shots at the snow plow driver. The plow wasn’t hit and O’Brien told authorities that he was aiming directly at the ground, not the driver. He also told police that he had some wine with his wife that evening at dinner. He took three field sobriety tests and managed to pass all of them with flying colors.
The snow plow driver told police that O’Brien was driving erratically. He was also tailgating the snow plow driver as well. O’Brien was later charged with numerous felonies, which included: disorderly conduct, assault with a dangerous weapon, discharging a weapon within 500 feet of a building and carrying a weapon while being under the influence of alcohol or liquor.