Hit-and-Run Driver Killed Efrain Rivera, 68, in Logan Square

A minivan driver fatally struck Efrain Rivera, 68, in Logan Square last Tuesday and then fled the scene.

At around 9 p.m. Rivera was crossing the street in the 3500 block of West Armitage when the eastbound driver of a silver minivan hit him and failed to render aid, police said.

Rivera, who lived two blocks northwest on the 3600 block of West Dickens, was transported to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead on Friday, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Major Accidents is investigating the case. There is a police camera at the corner of Armitage and Saint Louis. No one was in custody as of this afternoon.

According to a report from WGN, community activist Raul Montes Jr. has offered a $500 reward for information that leads the police to the hit-and-run driver. “I’m offering a $500 reward out of my own pocket to bring closure to the family of this man, who was an elderly person, and to try to solve this crime,” Montes told WGN. “It was a hit and run, you just don’t hit somebody and run.”

The crash took place in the 26th Ward, where the local alderman is Roberto Maldonado.

Fatality Tracker: 2017 Chicago pedestrian and bicyclist deaths
Pedestrian: 41
Bicyclist: 4

Note: Streetsblog Chicago’s traffic death numbers represent fatal crashes on Chicago streets. The pedestrian count above is based on Chicago Police Department data for January through October released by the Chicago Department of Transportation, plus media reports for November. In addition to the on-street bike fatalities, on June 24 a cyclist was riding on a CTA train platform when he fell on the tracks and was fatally struck.