Hit-and-Run Driver Fatally Struck Solomon Gutierrez, 50, in Belmont-Cragin

A Volkswagen Beetle driver fatally struck 50-year-old Solomon Gutierrez in the Belmont-Craigin neighborhood Thursday morning and fled the scene.

At about 4:14 a.m., the southbound driver of a red Beetle struck Gutierrez in the 3000 block of North Cicero Avenue and continued driving south, police said. The victim, who lived on the 1500 block South 56th Avenue in Cicero, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.

This stretch of Cicero is a busy, five-lane street multiple car-focused business like auto dealerships and repair shops. According to a report from ABC Chicago, merchants say speeding and crashes are common on this stretch. Buenos Aires Liquor and Deli owner Mario Gimenez told ABC he hears loud crashes all the time. "When I stay in the back, I say, 'boom, big [crash.]' It's normal here and... You can't do anything," Gimenez said.

Fatality Tracker: 2019 Chicago pedestrian and bicyclist deaths
Pedestrian: 5
Hit-and-run deaths (pedestrian or cyclist): 1
Truck fatalities (pedestrian or cyclist): 1

Note: Streetsblog Chicago’s traffic death numbers represent fatal crashes on Chicago streets, based on media reports for January, February, and March

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