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Drivers killed two pedestrians within 2 days on highway-like streets in River North

The 100 East block of Ohio Street where a hit-and-run driver fatally struck Ismael Montez Maldonado early Monday. Image: Google Maps

Update 9/23/19: Hannah Boshardy, the prematurely born daughter of Elizabeth Boshardy, died on Saturday, September 21, four days after Elizabeth's death. This Chicago Tribune article provides information about Elizabeth's life.

Motorists fatally struck two people walking during the last two days, within a few blocks of each other, on highway-like roads in River North.

On Monday, September 16, shortly before 2 a.m., Ismael Montez Maldonado, 43, was crossing the street at 19 E. Ohio St., according to authorities. This stretch of Ohio is an eastbound street connecting the Kennedy Expressway to the Magnificent Mile shopping district, with a broad four-lane layout that encourages speeding.

The driver a white four-door Toyota Camry sedan struck Maldonado and fled eastbound, according to police. The vehicle was last seen heading south on Lake Shore Drive from Grand Avenue.

Maldonado was transported to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to authorities. People with information about the crash are asked to call the Major Accident Investigation Unit at 312-745-4521.

Grand and LaSalle in River North. Image: google Maps
Grand and LaSalle in River North. Image: Google Maps
Grand and LaSalle in River North. Image: google Maps

Less that 34 hours later, and only four blocks southwest, on the morning of Tuesday, September 17, shortly before 11:30 a.m., a truck driver struck and killed Elizabeth Boshardy, 29, at Grand Avenue and LaSalle Street.

According to police, Boshardy was walking east on Grand and was crossing LaSalle when the westbound driver of a semi truck made a southbound left onto LaSalle and ran her over, trapping her under the vehicle.

Boshardy was taken to Northwestern Hospital where she was pronounced dead, according to police. ABC Chicago reported that Boshardy was pregnant, and Northwestern staff were still tending to her unborn child as of 4 p.m.

Major Accidents is investigating the case and citations against the driver, including failure to yield, are still pending, ABC reported.

On the Near North Side, LaSalle is a highway-like, speeding-prone six-lane street running between the Loop and the LaSalle entrance to Lake Shore Drive, just north of North Avenue. Some recent pedestrian fatalities on LaSalle in the area in the past decade included:

Fatality Tracker: 2019 Chicago pedestrian and bicyclist deaths on surface streets
Pedestrian: 33
Bicyclist: 1

Note: Streetsblog Chicago’s traffic death numbers represent fatal crashes on Chicago surface streets, based on preliminary Chicago Police Department data for January though August 2019 released by the Chicago Department of Transportation, plus media reports for September.

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