Assistance For Brenda & Her Baby
Donation protected
On the early morning of Monday August 28, 2017
Brenda was on the Western Express 49 bus headed North. She was going to work.
I too was on this bus (Christina Robles-Favela) but I was headed home.
It was a usual busy Monday, the bus quickly began to fill up.
Throughout the bus ride there was ruckus and nose coming from the very back of the bus. Nothing unusual or out of the ordinary. Throughout the bus ride I heard occasional yelling and louder noise from the other passengers located in back. Again I paid no attention because this is regular normal and behavior that happens on the bus. As we went from stop to stop I noticed that the bus driver had become agitated and began speaking directly to a passenger located in the back. I never turned my head around because I had absolutely zero interest in who this person was and what they were doing. I was just trying to get home, I was very tired & I had just finished working a 12-hour shift.
As we arrived at the Orange Line that is when the bus driver physically got up and he said to the passenger in the back making noise "This is a good place for you to get get off".
I had still not turned my head back at any point. I heard the bus driver become agitated when it appeared he could not get a hold of the unruly passenger. The bus driver exited the back door ( I was seated directly in front of the back door with my back to it). All I could think was "oh my God he's going to call the CTA police and they are going to have to physically remove this person off the bus". The other thought that came to my mind was why hasn't anyone exited the bus as this was many passengers stop to either get on another bus or get on train. It seemed as if the the entire bus population came to a standstill waiting to see what would happen to this man.
I turned my head to the right that is when I noticed the bus driver on his phone. I assume he was calling the police or the CTA police.
(The next thing that happened is the absolute most devasting horrific form of violence I have ever witnessed in my life. It has completely broken me and I have no words that I can possibly say to make any of you understand just how horrific this incident was)
I now see who it is starting all the problems. It is a young man who is very tall. He began walking toward the front of the bus. I assumed he was walking to the front of the bus to run out the front door. Maybe just to take off running, then situation would be done with?
THAT IS NOT WHAT HAPPENED.
When he got to the front of the bus (where the seating is reserved for people with disabilities, elderly and pregnant women) he turned to his right and he began violently beating a young girl in front of him!!! All I can hear is her yelling and screaming for him to stop, he continued beating her with a closed fists, I saw people get up & move out the way but there were so many on their phones recording this brutal attack!!! NOT ONE person got up remove this man from beating this young girl. He just continued wailing on her. At this point she went into a fetal position while trying to cover her face. I could hear her screaming over and over and over. . HE DID NOT STOP. HE CONTINUED!! He was beating her with closed fists and with both hands. I didn't know what to do. I jumped up. I don't know why but I went directly to him and I began screaming, begging and yelling at him to stop. I even said "PLEASE STOP HITTING HER!! PLEASE!"
HE DID NOT. At this point all I could hear was this young girl sobbing and begging him to stop while simultaneously hearing the other passengers yell to the bus driver (he was still trying to get a hold of the police) "SHE IS PREGNANT!!! HE IS BEATING HER UP!"
I became absolutely frantic, there was no way I would be able to pull this man off of her. I am 5'4, the victim is 5'2. Thank God the bus driver ran into the bus dragged him off off of her.
We were in a whirlwind of people still on the bus. She was indeed pregnant. She was bleeding, sobbing and in utter complete shock. I still had on my work uniform. I reached in my pocket (I had a pair of gloves and quickly put them on). I was trying to get her nose to stop bleeding (it was a spilt second but I looked to my right I could see the man who had beaten her on the floor in a choke hold)
Everything that occurred after that is a big blur. I tried to stay as calm as I possibly could and I asked this young girl "What is your name?" In between her sobs she said quietly whispered "Brenda".
Brenda was in severe shock. She was holding on to her stomach. She was pregnant-8 months exactly as of this Monday.
She was bleeding nonstop from nose. He repeatedly punched her in the nose so her blood was splattered all over her.
She was sobbing uncontrollably. I removed my work vest as I was trying to control the bleeding.
That's when a passenger called the police but placed the phone to my ear. I had no idea what to say or what to tell them. I tried my best. My main concern was Brenda.
She was trying to calm herself down (for her baby). Next thing we know the bus is completely empty. So now it's just Brenda and I. EMTS show up, police show up. They are taking Brenda to the hospital.
I have never met Brenda prior to this. She is scared, confused and in severe pain. I asked her if she wanted me to go to the hospital with her. She said yes. As we are walking to the ambulance, we see her attacker being handcuffed.
Once we get to the hospital this situation becomes absolutely worse. She is in a wheelchair waiting for them to admit her when an EMT WHEELS HER ATTACKER RIGHT BEHIND HER!!! YES RIGHT BEHIND HER. As much as I wish this could not be true it was. I thank God for the female police officer who sprang into action to have her attacker removed. Her attacker was in handcuffs, had the biggest smirk on his face. He knew that was his victim right in front of him. He absolutely did not care about all the pain he inflicted on Brenda.
Brenda DOES NOT know her attacker, has never seen him or did not have any altercation with him in any way shape or form. She was just sitting on the bus on her way to work. Minding her own business.
(I heard her attacker say a racial slur "this is because you're Mexican" at her while he was beating her. Which has made me believe this was racially motivated)
Brenda was admitted to the hospital (her attacker was too because he had been tazed, they moved him to another area far away from her).
Once there she began to swell up and all her pain was starting to finally set in.
All I could do was call my husband David, he immediately arrived.
Police were in and out of her room but were also providing protection for Brenda.
Her hands were extremely swollen and bruised along with her wrist because she covered most of her attacker's blows shielding herself. She has a massive bloodied bump on the top of her head. Her attacker repeatedly struck her in the same areas. The initial and most severe blows were to her head and nose. She has numerous bloody bumps all over her head due to this. She had to have x-rays on her left arm which is now in a splint and sling. Due to her pregnancy they could not give her any sort of pain medication except for Tylenol. She she severe swelling and bruising to her face, her entire head, hands and forearms. She has told us her entire jaw hurts extremely bad.
She did have ultra sounds, her baby boy appears to be okay for now. She will have to follow up with her OBGYN. She has been told to immediately go to the emergency room if she has any sort of bleeding do to the traumatic beating she received. Her main priority is her baby boy.
We were able to her ahold of her Mom, she did come see Brenda. Unfortunately since Brenda has younger siblings her mother had to leave. My husband and I stayed with her.
I had to call her job to let them know she will not be coming in for an unforseen time.
Her mental health is in a terrible place, she is extremely fearful even with the police protection at the hospital.
We thought once she was discharged everything would calm down unfortunately that was not the case. We were taken to the 9th district police station. They warned us we would be there for hours. Despite all the pain she was in Brenda said she would stay however long was needed so her attacker would be held accountable. We had to give formal interviews and had to wait for the crime scene to be processed. We also had to wait for the assistant district attorney to arrive and interview us. We will have to return on Tuesday August 29th for another interview. Brenda will be pressing charges against her attacker. Court date has been set for September 5th and we will be there to get justice for Brenda.
This GoFundMe has been set up by me: Christina Robles-Favela. I was a witness to this horrendous attack. With Brenda's blessing I am starting this campaign. All the funds raised will go directly to Brenda and her baby boy which is due October 23.
She is unable to work now (she is a soon to mother and has worked her entire pregnancy). She will not be able to return to her job for an unforeseen time. Brenda does have medical insurance but she will need assistance in finding a therapist to help her through this situation (her insurance does not cover this). We are in the process of trying to find her a more stable and safer place to live for her and her soon to be born son.
Any help would be appreciated!!! Please share this with your friends and family as this could have easily been anyone of us or someone we know or don't know. We do not need to know a person to help. Before this incident I have never seen or met Brenda in my life. My husband and I now consider her family. We are doing our absolute best to assist her in anyway possible. Brenda is very shy, quiet and a hard working young lady. We have never heard her speak in a negative way toward her attacker she just wants to know why he did this to her. She is severely distraught and in so much pain.
Any assistance you can provide would mean so much.
Thank you for your time and for reading this campaign.
-Christina Robles-Favela
Brenda was on the Western Express 49 bus headed North. She was going to work.
I too was on this bus (Christina Robles-Favela) but I was headed home.
It was a usual busy Monday, the bus quickly began to fill up.
Throughout the bus ride there was ruckus and nose coming from the very back of the bus. Nothing unusual or out of the ordinary. Throughout the bus ride I heard occasional yelling and louder noise from the other passengers located in back. Again I paid no attention because this is regular normal and behavior that happens on the bus. As we went from stop to stop I noticed that the bus driver had become agitated and began speaking directly to a passenger located in the back. I never turned my head around because I had absolutely zero interest in who this person was and what they were doing. I was just trying to get home, I was very tired & I had just finished working a 12-hour shift.
As we arrived at the Orange Line that is when the bus driver physically got up and he said to the passenger in the back making noise "This is a good place for you to get get off".
I had still not turned my head back at any point. I heard the bus driver become agitated when it appeared he could not get a hold of the unruly passenger. The bus driver exited the back door ( I was seated directly in front of the back door with my back to it). All I could think was "oh my God he's going to call the CTA police and they are going to have to physically remove this person off the bus". The other thought that came to my mind was why hasn't anyone exited the bus as this was many passengers stop to either get on another bus or get on train. It seemed as if the the entire bus population came to a standstill waiting to see what would happen to this man.
I turned my head to the right that is when I noticed the bus driver on his phone. I assume he was calling the police or the CTA police.
(The next thing that happened is the absolute most devasting horrific form of violence I have ever witnessed in my life. It has completely broken me and I have no words that I can possibly say to make any of you understand just how horrific this incident was)
I now see who it is starting all the problems. It is a young man who is very tall. He began walking toward the front of the bus. I assumed he was walking to the front of the bus to run out the front door. Maybe just to take off running, then situation would be done with?
THAT IS NOT WHAT HAPPENED.
When he got to the front of the bus (where the seating is reserved for people with disabilities, elderly and pregnant women) he turned to his right and he began violently beating a young girl in front of him!!! All I can hear is her yelling and screaming for him to stop, he continued beating her with a closed fists, I saw people get up & move out the way but there were so many on their phones recording this brutal attack!!! NOT ONE person got up remove this man from beating this young girl. He just continued wailing on her. At this point she went into a fetal position while trying to cover her face. I could hear her screaming over and over and over. . HE DID NOT STOP. HE CONTINUED!! He was beating her with closed fists and with both hands. I didn't know what to do. I jumped up. I don't know why but I went directly to him and I began screaming, begging and yelling at him to stop. I even said "PLEASE STOP HITTING HER!! PLEASE!"
HE DID NOT. At this point all I could hear was this young girl sobbing and begging him to stop while simultaneously hearing the other passengers yell to the bus driver (he was still trying to get a hold of the police) "SHE IS PREGNANT!!! HE IS BEATING HER UP!"
I became absolutely frantic, there was no way I would be able to pull this man off of her. I am 5'4, the victim is 5'2. Thank God the bus driver ran into the bus dragged him off off of her.
We were in a whirlwind of people still on the bus. She was indeed pregnant. She was bleeding, sobbing and in utter complete shock. I still had on my work uniform. I reached in my pocket (I had a pair of gloves and quickly put them on). I was trying to get her nose to stop bleeding (it was a spilt second but I looked to my right I could see the man who had beaten her on the floor in a choke hold)
Everything that occurred after that is a big blur. I tried to stay as calm as I possibly could and I asked this young girl "What is your name?" In between her sobs she said quietly whispered "Brenda".
Brenda was in severe shock. She was holding on to her stomach. She was pregnant-8 months exactly as of this Monday.
She was bleeding nonstop from nose. He repeatedly punched her in the nose so her blood was splattered all over her.
She was sobbing uncontrollably. I removed my work vest as I was trying to control the bleeding.
That's when a passenger called the police but placed the phone to my ear. I had no idea what to say or what to tell them. I tried my best. My main concern was Brenda.
She was trying to calm herself down (for her baby). Next thing we know the bus is completely empty. So now it's just Brenda and I. EMTS show up, police show up. They are taking Brenda to the hospital.
I have never met Brenda prior to this. She is scared, confused and in severe pain. I asked her if she wanted me to go to the hospital with her. She said yes. As we are walking to the ambulance, we see her attacker being handcuffed.
Once we get to the hospital this situation becomes absolutely worse. She is in a wheelchair waiting for them to admit her when an EMT WHEELS HER ATTACKER RIGHT BEHIND HER!!! YES RIGHT BEHIND HER. As much as I wish this could not be true it was. I thank God for the female police officer who sprang into action to have her attacker removed. Her attacker was in handcuffs, had the biggest smirk on his face. He knew that was his victim right in front of him. He absolutely did not care about all the pain he inflicted on Brenda.
Brenda DOES NOT know her attacker, has never seen him or did not have any altercation with him in any way shape or form. She was just sitting on the bus on her way to work. Minding her own business.
(I heard her attacker say a racial slur "this is because you're Mexican" at her while he was beating her. Which has made me believe this was racially motivated)
Brenda was admitted to the hospital (her attacker was too because he had been tazed, they moved him to another area far away from her).
Once there she began to swell up and all her pain was starting to finally set in.
All I could do was call my husband David, he immediately arrived.
Police were in and out of her room but were also providing protection for Brenda.
Her hands were extremely swollen and bruised along with her wrist because she covered most of her attacker's blows shielding herself. She has a massive bloodied bump on the top of her head. Her attacker repeatedly struck her in the same areas. The initial and most severe blows were to her head and nose. She has numerous bloody bumps all over her head due to this. She had to have x-rays on her left arm which is now in a splint and sling. Due to her pregnancy they could not give her any sort of pain medication except for Tylenol. She she severe swelling and bruising to her face, her entire head, hands and forearms. She has told us her entire jaw hurts extremely bad.
She did have ultra sounds, her baby boy appears to be okay for now. She will have to follow up with her OBGYN. She has been told to immediately go to the emergency room if she has any sort of bleeding do to the traumatic beating she received. Her main priority is her baby boy.
We were able to her ahold of her Mom, she did come see Brenda. Unfortunately since Brenda has younger siblings her mother had to leave. My husband and I stayed with her.
I had to call her job to let them know she will not be coming in for an unforseen time.
Her mental health is in a terrible place, she is extremely fearful even with the police protection at the hospital.
We thought once she was discharged everything would calm down unfortunately that was not the case. We were taken to the 9th district police station. They warned us we would be there for hours. Despite all the pain she was in Brenda said she would stay however long was needed so her attacker would be held accountable. We had to give formal interviews and had to wait for the crime scene to be processed. We also had to wait for the assistant district attorney to arrive and interview us. We will have to return on Tuesday August 29th for another interview. Brenda will be pressing charges against her attacker. Court date has been set for September 5th and we will be there to get justice for Brenda.
This GoFundMe has been set up by me: Christina Robles-Favela. I was a witness to this horrendous attack. With Brenda's blessing I am starting this campaign. All the funds raised will go directly to Brenda and her baby boy which is due October 23.
She is unable to work now (she is a soon to mother and has worked her entire pregnancy). She will not be able to return to her job for an unforeseen time. Brenda does have medical insurance but she will need assistance in finding a therapist to help her through this situation (her insurance does not cover this). We are in the process of trying to find her a more stable and safer place to live for her and her soon to be born son.
Any help would be appreciated!!! Please share this with your friends and family as this could have easily been anyone of us or someone we know or don't know. We do not need to know a person to help. Before this incident I have never seen or met Brenda in my life. My husband and I now consider her family. We are doing our absolute best to assist her in anyway possible. Brenda is very shy, quiet and a hard working young lady. We have never heard her speak in a negative way toward her attacker she just wants to know why he did this to her. She is severely distraught and in so much pain.
Any assistance you can provide would mean so much.
Thank you for your time and for reading this campaign.
-Christina Robles-Favela
Organizer
Christina Robles-Favela
Organizer
Chicago, IL