A 45-year-old male pedestrian is dead after a motorist lost control of his vehicle and drove onto the sidewalk.
Andre Silas Jr., 19, was driving northbound on Halsted Street on Wednesday morning at about 11 a.m., according to Officer Janel Sedevic from Police News Affairs. At 118th Street, Silas ran into a light pole on the east side of Halsted, then struck the pedestrian, Sedevic said.
The victim, whose has not yet been identified, was pronounced dead on the scene, according to Sedevic. Silas, of the 1400 block of Stanley Boulevard in Calumet City, stayed on the scene and has been charged with driving on a sidewalk or parkway, and speeding not more than 30 mph over the speed limit, Sedevic said.
This section of Halsted is a broad roadway with four travel lanes plus turn lanes, which encourages speeding.
Fatality Tracker: 2015 Chicago pedestrian and bicyclist deaths Pedestrian: 18 (6 were hit-and-run crashes) Bicyclist: 2 (both were hit-and-run crashes)
Update 6/19/15: The Cook County medical examiner's office has identified the victim as Larry Jordan, of the 11800 block of South Emerald.
In addition to editing Streetsblog Chicago, John writes about transportation and other topics for additional local publications. A Chicagoan since 1989, he enjoys exploring the city on foot, bike, bus, and 'L' train.
In the short term, new signage is needed to designate legal areas for cycling on the path. In the long term CDOT should build the proposed Wacker Drive protected bike lane.