Hit-and-Run SUV Driver Struck and Killed Dorata Cieslinska, 56, in Boystown

Police are still seeking the SUV driver who fatally struck 56-year-old Dorata Cieslinska in Boystown last Thursday night, April 19, and fled the scene.

At about 9 p.m. Cieslinska, who lived on the Northwest Side, was walking west across Halsted on Buckingham in a crosswalk by Nookie’s Tree diner, according to witnesses. The intersection has four-way stop signs. The southbound driver of a red Jeep Renegade SUV with four doors failed to yield to the pedestrian and struck her. Witnesses said she landed on the windshield before falling in the street and being run over by the motorist, who fled south.

Cieslinska was transported to Illinois Masonic Medical Center where she was pronounced dead, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. Police have released photos of the vehicle taken by security cameras and are asking those with information to call the CPD Major Accidents Investigation Unit at 312-745-4521. As of this afternoon no one was in custody, according to Police News Affairs.

Witness Kevin Van told ABC Chicago he attempted to revive Cieslinska through CPR. Referring to the driver he said, “How can anybody have that kind of disregard for human life?”

In June 2015 a van driver fatally struck neighborhood resident Chisun Lee, 78, on the same block of Halsted. That driver stayed on the scene and was not cited.

Fatality Tracker: 2018 Chicago pedestrian and bicyclist deaths
Pedestrian: 10
Bicyclist: 1

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 2018 released by the Chicago Department of Transportation, plus media reports for February through April.