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It was rush hour on Tuesday on Lake Shore Drive.
I’d just rounded the curve, northbound, by Oak Street Beach and noticed a heavy presence of Chicago Police officers on bikes and in cars. And, if I’m not mistaken, on ATVs.
The beach was throbbing with people on this warm summer day.
Then, all of a sudden, I saw a pack of young people racing into traffic.
Against the backdrop of flashing CPD blue lights by the North Avenue Beach house, I’d estimate 20 to 30 young men and women were running through the North Avenue/La Salle exit.
Remember, this was rush hour.
Traffic was slower than normal but moving. Motorists on the Drive are not prepared for a wilding of young people weaving on foot in between their vehicles.
But there they were. Running across the northbound lanes. Jumping the barrier. Zigzagging in front of cars in the southbound lanes. And sprinting into the park.
My first instinct was to call the cops. The second was to call my news desk. And that’s what I did and in that order. Who wants to see a kid killed in traffic? Or a motorist terrorized by a kid running through traffic?
The 911 officer who answered asked for a specific description of the people I saw. Were they white, Hispanic or African American?
They were African American, I told her.
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