Observers do nothing to help dying man in Chicago street

CHICAGO – Surveillance video shows more than a dozen people doing nothing to help a Chicago bartender as he is attacked, left unconscious on the street and accidentally run over by a taxi.

Marques Gaines, 32, later died at a hospital. His family has filed a wrongful death and negligence lawsuit against several businesses and taxi companies in his Feb. 7 death.

The video shows Gaines leaving a convenience store and chatting with other people outside before getting into a confrontation with a man wearing a hooded jacket. That man shoves Gaines. The video then shows someone punch Gaines, who falls to the ground unconscious.

Several people are then seen approaching Gaines. The Chicago Tribune reported that Gaines’ family says his cellphone and debit card were stolen. Chicago police said they cannot confirm Gaines was robbed.

The video shows the people who approached Gaines walking away as he lies on the ground. Several other people ignore Gaines as they walk by. Then, a taxi turning onto the street where Gaines is lying runs over his body.

“I’ve never heard of anything like this where people just walk by a person lying in the street and nobody help,” Gaines’ aunt Phyllis Nelson, who raised him after his parents died, said at a news conference Thursday. “I just don’t understand it.”

Gaines’ attacker remains at large and his family’s attorneys pressed for more police action to find the man. Chicago police said Thursday that detectives are investigating and waiting for results from evidence to be returned.

Police said the cab driver was not cited at the scene. The Cook County medical examiner’s office said the cause of Gaines’ death is pending the police investigation.

Relatives said they hope highlighting the case will draw the attention of eyewitnesses who will help identify the attacker.