Chicago — A traffic accident in River North took an ugly turn Sunday morning when the occupants of one car beat up and robbed the other driver. And the story got even stranger when the victim tracked his stolen phone and allegedly discovered the other driver standing inside a Chicago police station, filing an accident report.
Dawnisha Escobal, 24, was charged with robbery and misdemeanor battery during a court hearing on Monday afternoon.
Around 2 a.m. Sunday, Escobal collided with a 22-year-old Uber driver at the intersection of Orleans and Ontario streets, according to a Chicago police report.
The Uber driver, who had two passengers, got out to inspect the damage but wound up being attacked by Escobal and three other people, prosecutors said. The group punched the Uber driver in the head and face. They fled in Escobal’s car after she allegedly took the other driver’s phone.
About two hours later, Escobal went to the Gresham (6th) District police station at 7808 South Halsted to file a report about the car accident. As officers filled out the paperwork, the Uber driver, who was tracking his stolen phone’s GPS signal, walked into the police station and saw Escobal.
Officers arrested Escobal in the station lobby after confirming she had the man’s phone, according to officials.
Escobal’s public defender said she’s a certified nursing assistant who is learning solar power installation.
After observing that bringing a stolen phone into a police station “doesn’t make a lot of sense, quite frankly,” Judge Charles Beach ordered Escobal to pay a $1,000 bail deposit to be released. Beach stated that once she returns home, she must observe a curfew from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m.
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