No Citations for Driver Who Fatally Struck Paul J. Gunia, 61, in Belmont Terrace
A driver leaving a shopping center struck and killed Paul J. Gunia, 61, in the Belmont Terrace neighborhood on the Northwest Side and was not cited.
At about 5:40 p.m. Gunia was crossing northbound in the 8300 block of Belmont Avenue, according to Officer Ronald Westbrook from Police News Affairs. The Thatcher Woods shopping center is on the south side of the block.
The motorist was leaving a parking spot and heading north to turn left when he struck Gunia, Westbrook said. The victim was taken to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood and pronounced dead at 4:24 p.m. last Wednesday, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
Belmont is a five-lane street at this location. Westbrook said no charges are pending against the driver because Gunia “was not in the crosswalk while crossing the street” and the collision was ruled an “accident.”
Fatality Tracker: 2018 Chicago pedestrian and bicyclist deaths
Pedestrian: 23
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-April 2018 released by the Chicago Department of Transportation, plus media reports for May and June
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