21-Apr-16 – He just went in to buy a bag of chips, but on his way out, Marques Gaines was caught between a man claiming to be “king of the street” and a security guard who had kicked the man out of the 7-Eleven.

As the shouting match escalated to violence, early on a Sunday morning, February 7, the man struck Marques in the back of the head, knocking him unconscious into the street, where he was run over by a taxi.

On Thursday, the family of Marques Gaines announced they have filed a lawsuit against 7-Eleven, the taxi driver who struck him, and two taxi companies. The lawsuit, filed in Cook County Circuit Court, seeks a trial by jury to consider counts of negligence and wrongful death.

At a news conference outside the 7-Eleven on Thursday morning, the family’s attorney, Christopher Hurley, explained how security video, captured by cameras inside the 7-Eleven and City of Chicago cameras outside, show security at the store was “completely inadequate.”

(Above) Area just outside the entrance to the 7-Eleven at the intersection of North State Street and West Hubbard Street in River North. Small signs warn of “security cameras in use.” In background at right, reporters speak with family members and their attorney. Behind them is Mother Hubbard’s Sports Pub. (Click on image to view larger version.)

After his shift ended at Chicago Marriott Downtown Magnificent Mile, Gaines, who was a bartender at the hotel, went to Mother Hubbard’s Sports Pub for drinks with co-workers. At about 4:16 a.m., he went next door to the 7-Eleven for a bag of chips.

While he was in the store, a stocky man with a beard tried to enter but was turned away by a security guard who was on the sidewalk outside the store. Before he entered the store, Marques appears to have had some brief interaction with the man and as he leaves the store, the man is waiting to confront him.

4:19 a.m. Marques (left) is hit and knocked out. The security guard goes back inside the store. As he lies in the street, close to the west side, two people run across State Street and rob Gaines of his wallet and mobile phone. 4:21 a.m. The security guard and another man are on the sidewalk, not appearing to render aid but simply staring at him. 4:22 a.m. A Globe Taxi, driven by Mehdi Seyftolooi, turns from Hubbard onto State Street and accidentally runs over Gaines. He is pinned underneath the taxi for nearly three minutes. It takes six people, including three police officers, to roll the taxi off Marques.

(Right) Seen from a video camera inside the taxi, police officers lift the vehicle so that rescuers can pull Marques out from under it.

Revived four times but injuries, say doctors, beyond repair

At Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Gaines’s heart stopped beating five times. He was revived four times but when it happened a fifth time, doctors realized there was too much damage to his liver. The 32-year-old man from the Lake View neighborhood north of the Loop died shortly thereafter, four hours after the accident.

The complaint says 7-Eleven had a duty to “exercise ordinary care” for the safety of Marques, protect him from attacks by third parties, and to warn him of the danger of such attacks.

Hurley says the company knew of criminal activity near the store, during late night hours, and knew of the assailant from previous incidents.

“7-Eleven Corporation is well aware of the fact that criminals target their stores because they’re an easy place to prey on people who are just in there to buy things,” says Hurley.

(Above) Hurley speaks with reporters outside the 7-Eleven at State & Hubbard.

He says city records show numerous assaults and robberies within one block of the store. Between December 13, 2015, and February 7, 2016, he says there were at least 31 incidents of larceny or theft, 18 batteries, and five robberies.

The store is particularly dangerous at times when nearby bars are closing. But the biggest problem, says Hurley, is how the security guard handled the incident immediately before Gaines was attacked.

“Rather than diffuse the situation and act as a proper security guard, which would be to separate the people and call the police, it appeared that the situation was actually inflamed.”

He says the unidentified security guard was “in over his head” and “given a job he wasn’t trained to do.”

“After my client is attacked and lays unconscious on the side of the street,” said Hurley, frustrated, “render some first aid. Is that too much to ask? How about stop traffic so he’s not driven over by a taxi cab? These are just basic things that a trained security guard would have done.”

Marques ‘all about unity,’ says cousin Drexina Nelson, who was Marques’s cousin, says she watched the video and believes Marques looks “bewildered” after he steps into the confrontation. “Honestly, I can say he’s probably never been in a fight. He’s a very fun-loving person and all about unity,” says Nelson (left). “When he saw the altercation, he probably went, whoa, what did I get into? In the video, he kind of holds his hands up. And I know he’s probably, like, ‘I just don’t want any trouble.’”

The complaint amends an earlier version filed on March 2. Defendants are 7-Eleven, Inc., based in Dallas, the 7-Eleven store at State & Hubbard, Mother Hubbard’s, Chicago Taxi, Inc., Globe Taxi Association, Inc., and Mehdi Seyftolooi.