Earlier this week drivers killed two pedestrians within a 36-hour period, within four blocks of each other, on highway-like streets in River North. Here are updates on the two cases.
On Monday shortly before 2 a.m., the driver of a white four-door Toyota Camry sedan struck Ismael Montez Maldonado as he crossed the street at 19 E. Ohio St. and fled eastbound, according to police. The vehicle was last seen heading south on Lake Shore Drive from Grand Avenue. As of late this afternoon, there had been no arrests in the case.
On Tuesday at about 11:30 a.m. at Grand Avenue and LaSalle Street, Elizabeth Boshardy, 29, was walking east on Grand and was crossing LaSalle when the westbound driver of a flatbed truck made a southbound left onto LaSalle and ran her over, pinning her under the vehicle. Today the police announced that the driver was cited for failure to yield to pedestrian in crosswalk. It's possible that there could be additional citation as Major Accidents continues to investigate the case.
However, the Chicago Tribune reported that head police department spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said that it appears unlikely that there will be criminal charges against the trucker, a 67-year-old man from suburban Lyons. “At this point, it appears to be a very, very tragic accident,” Guglielmi said.
Guglielmi's choice of words contradict's the language in the city's Vision Zero Chicago Action Plan, which states that "Vision Zero commits to several principles, most importantly, that traffic crashes are not 'accidents,' and that the tools and technology exist to prevent loss of life."
Boshardy, who lived on the 1600 block of West Cortez in West Town, was pregnant. According to the Tribune, emergency crews arrived within two minutes of the crash, and doctors at Northwestern Memorial Hospital were able to deliver the baby. The child, a girl, was taken to the hospital's neonatal intensive care unit for treatment. According to a WBBM News Radio report, Boshardy had been six months pregnant. Over half of premature babies born after 23 to 24 weeks of pregnancy survive.
According an NBC Chicago report, people who knew Borshardy described her as "quiet and kind."
CBS Chicago reported that the truck driver told police "he didn't see" Boshardy, who worked as a data scientist for Chicago-based clothing company Trunk Club. CBS reported that the truck is registered with the U.S. Department of Transportation for the Rock Clay Sales Co. and was transporting a forklift at the time of the crash. The vehicle and driver hadn't been the subject of any roadside safety inspections within the last two years. It's not clear whether the truck had undergone its required annual inspections with the Illinois Department of Transportation.
