Cyclist Killed in Bridgeport Hit-and-Run, Driver Charged With Felony

The crash site from the driver's perspective.

A Bridgeport man has been charged with a felony after he allegedly killed a female bicyclist with his van, then fled the scene. The case appears to be the first Chicago bike fatality of 2014.

Last Thursday at about 5:35 p.m., Suai Xie, 59, was cycling northwest on the 2900 block of South Poplar in Bridgeport, next to McGuane Park, according to Officer Janel Sedovic of Police News Affairs. Gabriel Herrera, 65, was driving a van eastbound on 29th Street, on his way to Home Depot, police said. He allegedly struck the cyclist and continued east.

Xie, who lived about a mile east of the crash site on the 2800 block of West 24th Place, was transported to Stroger Hospital, Sedovic said. Xie was pronounced dead at 6:08 p.m., according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Witnesses to the crash wrote down license number for the van, which was registered under the name of Herrera’s employer, and reported it to the police, prosecutors said. Two hours later, officers arrested Herrera at his home on the 3000 block of South Quinn, around the corner from the crash site. According to prosecutors, he had no alcohol or drugs in his system.

Herrera was charged with leaving the scene of an accident resulting in a death, as well as failure to render aid and give information. He also received a traffic ticket for failure to reduce speed to avoid a crash, a misdemeanor. At a hearing on Saturday, Judge Maria Kuriakos Ciesil set his bond at $200,000 and ordered him to surrender his passport in case he decides to post bail, the Tribune reported.

Fatality Tracker: 2014 Chicago pedestrian and bicyclist deaths

Pedestrian: 14 (5 were hit-and-run crashes)
Bicyclist: 1 (1 was a hit-and-run crash)