3100 block of North Central Avenue.
2013 Chicago fatality stats*:
Pedestrian: 4 (3 were from a hit-and-run crash)
Pedalcyclist: 0
Transit: 1
It’s always tragic when an individual’s poor choices lead to the injury or death of innocent people. Case in point was the senseless killing of Mario Ortega, 38, and serious injury of two other pedestrians in Cragin last weekend after Leroy Bobo, 42, drank three glasses of brandy, smoked pot and then decided to get behind the wheel.
According to Tribune, Bobo was at twice the legal blood alcohol level with a suspended license as he drove north on North Central Park Avenue around 12:45 a.m. Saturday. His record included previous convictions for driving without insurance, speeding and running a stop sign. He struck a parked car on the 3100 block and careened into a group of pedestrians waiting to cross the street.
Bobo then fled the scene and crashed into another car stopped at a red light about a mile away. When the police found him in his wrecked vehicle, he was still stepping on the gas pedal in an effort to get away, the Trib reports. Ortega was pronounced dead shortly afterwards at Our Lady of the Resurrection Medical Center. A 36-year-old woman was hospitalized with a broken hip while another woman, 32, suffered bleeding to the brain. The driver was charged with the DUI and hit-and-run on Monday.
View previous 2013 Fatality Tracker posts.
