Last week two different people lost their lives to hit-and-run drivers, in two different South Side neighborhoods, on the same day. Both of the drivers are still at large.
On Friday at about 3:40 a.m., a southbound motorist fatally struck Timothy Jones, 41, of the 200 block of South Sacramento, in the 6000 block of South Yale, below the CTA Green Line elevated tracks, according to police. Jones was found unresponsive in the street after the crash; as of Saturday, the exact cause of death was still under investigation, according to the Chicago Tribune.
This section of Yale is a frontage road for the Dan Ryan Expressway with few intersections, making it an easy place to speed, especially late at night. The police department’s Major Accidents Investigation Unit has issued a community alert, asking anyone with information about the crash to call MAIU at 312-745-4521, or submit an anonymous tip at tipsoft.com.
6100 block of South Yale Avenue.
That evening, shortly before midnight, another southbound driver struck and killed Carissa Hinz, 21, of the 3300 block of South Lowe Avenue, as she crossed Morgan Street near the Co-Prosperity Sphere Gallery, 3219 South Morgan, according to police. Hinz, who volunteered at the gallery, was taking out the garbage during an event when the driver of a dark-colored vehicle, possibly a Honda Accord, struck her and then fled the scene, witnesses said.
The crash threw Hinz about 100 feet and she landed on the rear windshield of another car, according to police. She died at the scene. An autopsy conducted on Saturday determined that she died from injuries sustained during the crash and ruled the death an accident, according to the Tribune.
MAIU is currently investingating the crash, according to Police News Affairs’ Officer Mike Sullivan. Anyone with information should contact the investigations unit.
Bob Cunningham, who has lived in an apartment overlooking Morgan for 17 years, told the Tribune that motorists often speed down the street, which he described as a “grand speedway.” The fact that this section of Morgan is on a half-mile stretch with no stoplights may contribute to the speeding problem.
Hinz had graduated from the American Academy of Art, where she studied graphic design, a month earlier, and was working full time at the nearby Bridgeport Coffee. "Our deepest heartfelt sympathies go out to her family and friends,” reads a message on the café’s website. “She was an artistic soul with a generous heart, and was beloved by neighbors, customers and her co-workers." Friends have placed flowers and lit candles by a light pole at the crash site.
Fatality Tracker: 2013 Chicago pedestrian and bicyclist deaths
Pedestrian: 10 (9 were from hit-and-run crashes, 2 in truck crashes)
Bicyclist: 2
