Driver Ricardo Salazar said he was waiting for the light to turn green at Chicago and Milwaukee avenues about 6 a.m. Tuesday when he saw a cabdriver go through the intersection, hit a light pole and swerve past his car.
The Checker taxi then hopped the curb and struck pedestrian Eric Kerestes, who was thrown at least 15 feet and pronounced dead at the scene, according to authorities. Kerestes, 30, lived just blocks away.
"It happened so fast," said Salazar, who had been driving to work. "I think I was more or less in shock."
Salazar called 911 and scrambled to help the cab's passenger and driver get out of the car, which had also struck a nearby CVS store's sign.
"It sounded like thunder had hit the building," the store's manager later said.
In all the commotion, Salazar said, he did not immediately notice Kerestes.
The passenger was able to get out, but the cabdriver needed help exiting the vehicle, which caught fire, said Dan Faraci, who was returning home from work when he came across the crash.
"The fire had just started when we got him out," said Faraci, who said he saw the taxi hit the light pole and flip multiple times.
Salazar said he then helped walk the cabdriver to the curb.
"He was repeating, 'I tried to put the brakes on,' that is all he was saying," Salazar said.
The cabdriver, 60, who is not being named by the Tribune because he has not been charged, has been a licensed Chicago public chauffeur since May 1987, according to the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection, which issues licenses.
His current city record has no outstanding safety issues related to moving violations or consumer complaints, according to the department.
From about 1988 through 2009, Cook County Circuit Court records show that the cabdriver accrued more than 30 traffic tickets for various violations, including speeding and ignoring stop signs. Most of the tickets happened in a taxi, and most were thrown out. The cabdriver's last Cook County moving violation tickets, however, were issued nearly 10 years ago, according to records.
He currently has a clean driving record, Illinois secretary of state officials said.
At home Tuesday afternoon, the cabdriver's wife said he has had some tickets "but nothing like today."
She said her husband has been a cabdriver for 20 years and that he calls her 10 or 12 times a day, including at 6 a.m. When she didn't hear from him today, she said she became worried.
"He always calls to say: 'Is everything going well?'" she said, tears running down her face as she balanced their 18-month-old daughter on her knee.
She said her husband had recently been given a new cab to drive.
Checker Taxi Affiliation officials could not be reached for comment.
The cabdriver was taken in good condition to Stroger Hospital and later released. The passenger was taken in serious to critical condition to Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
Kerestes, of the 600 block of North Racine Avenue, was pronounced dead at 6:36 a.m., according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and families involved in this morning's tragic accident," said Jennifer Lipford, a spokeswoman for the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection. "The Chicago Police Department is investigating the accident. Upon conclusion of their investigation, BACP will take appropriate action."
Joshua Yates, a family friend of Kerestes, said Kerestes was married, had a bachelor's and master's degrees in civil engineering from theUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaignand was working toward his MBA at the University of Chicago.
Kerestes also worked for the construction company Kiewit, Yates said.
"He was a very kind, generous person," Yates said. "We are extremely shocked at this point and extremely distressed."
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