Woman 'Spurned' By CTA Bus Driver Makes Fake 911 Call About Stabbing: Prosecutor

OAK LAWN, IL -- A Chicago woman whose romantic advances were spurned by a CTA bus driver was arrested Wednesday evening after she made up a story about a man with a gun and knife so she could get the driver in trouble, prosecutors said.

Krystal Watkins, 31, appeared before Cook County Judge Peter Felice on a felony charge of disorderly conduct. Watkins allegedly called 911 to report that a person had been stabbed, drawing a heavy police response from Oak Lawn and Hometown police.

The prosecutor said that Watkins had met the bus driver five days prior while a passenger on his bus. The two struck up a conversation and they exchanged phone numbers. After a few phone conversations, the bus driver reportedly stopped taking Watkins’ calls.

Sometime after 10 p.m. Wednesday, Watkins boarded a CTA bus operated by the same driver she had met a few days before. Watkins tried to speak to him about not taking her calls. When he didn’t respond, she allegedly threatened to call 911 and report that he raped her, the prosecutor said.

When the bus driver told Watkins to leave the bus she called 911 to report that someone had been stabbed by a man with a gun and knife, the prosecutor said. Ten Oak Lawn police units and two from Hometown responded to the area of 87th Street and Cicero Avenue, as well as an Oak Lawn fire engine and ambulance.

When police asked Watkins to identify the alleged perp, the prosecutor said she pointed to the CTA bus driver. After police determined the driver to be unarmed and finding no weapons hidden on the bus, officers radioed dispatch and asked them to call the number that reported the stabbing. Police said Watkins’ phone began ringing. Watkins was taken into police custody where she made vague admissions, the prosecutor said.

“This is inexcusable if true,” Judge Felice said.

The assistant public defender told the judge that Watkins works as a hospital clerk. She has no prior arrests.

The judge released Watkins’ on a $10,000 I-bond. He told her to stay away from the driver.

“I don’t want you calling or texting him,” Judge Felice said. "We'll call this an unguarded moment."

Watkins’ next court date is July 20 in Bridgeview.