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Cab Driver Kills Man Crossing Eight Lanes of Cicero Near Midway

12:36 PM CDT on May 28, 2013


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5200 Block of South Cicero, from the cab driver's perspective

A cab driver heading south towards Midway Airport on the 5200 South block of Cicero, just south of Archer, struck and killed a 56-year-old Oklahoma man who was trying to walk west across the street, around 11:30 p.m. Monday, according to Police News Affairs Officer John Mirabella. This block of Cicero, three blocks north of the airport, has six travel lanes plus two turn lanes at the intersection with Archer, which makes crossing it on foot a daunting task.

The police said the pedestrian, whose name was not released, was crossing just south of Archer when he was struck, and he was not in a crosswalk. Since the crosswalk at the south leg of the intersection is about a 115-degree angle to Cicero, it’s possible the man was struck while making a more direct, 90-degree crossing.

Possible path of southbound cab is shown in red; possible route of westbound pedestrian is blue.

The victim was pronounced dead at the scene. Taxi driver, Lester Brown, 75, from the 6800 block of South Indiana, was cited for driving too fast for conditions, Mirabella said. The police department’s Major Accidents Investigation Section is looking into the case.

Fatality Tracker: 2013 Chicago pedestrian and bicyclist deaths
Pedestrian: 9 (7 were from hit-and-run crashes, 2 in truck crashes)
Bicyclist: 1

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