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Adolf Urbanowicz, 94, and Felix Martinez, 45, died last week after drivers struck them

12:09 AM CDT on September 24, 2019

Felix Martinez

Two Chicago men died last week after drivers struck them in the Garfield Ridge and Hermosa communities.

Adolf Urbanowicz, 94

Abram Urbanowicz
Adolf Urbanowicz

On Tuesday, August 20, at around 12:05 p.m., Urbanowicz was walking at Archer Avenue and Lockwood Avenue in Garfield Ridge, CBS Chicago reported. A 40-year-old woman driving a Cadillac struck the senior while making a left turn from Lockwood onto Archer. She was ticketed for failure to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk.

Ubrnowicz was observed to have suffered abrasions to the head and was transported to MacNeal Hospital in Berwyn, CBS reported. He died on Friday, September 20. He was found to have died of hypertensive and arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease, but closed head injuries from the crash contributed to his death, the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office said.

According to Urbanowiscz's obituary, he had five children, eight grandchildren, and many great-grandchildren.

Felix Martinez, 45

On Sunday, March 22 at 3:13 a.m., Martinez was crossing five-lane Cicero Avenue at Armitage Avenue in Hermosa when the driver of a 1999 Maroon Nissan Altima struck him and fled the scene, ABC Chicago reported. Martinez was taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center and later pronounced dead.

Armitage and Cicero. Image: Google Maps
Armitage and Cicero. Image: Google Maps

Relative held a vigil for Martinez at the crash site on Sunday. "It's painful for all the family, because he has six kids, His kids are in Mexico," the victim's niece Thonatcim Escareno said.

Victor Lais, 32 was placed in custody in the 900 block of N. St. Louis after he was identified as the driver, according to Police News Affairs. Lais was charged with a felony count of failure to report a crash resulting in a death, and a felony count of driving on a revoked license. He appeared in Central Bond Court today.

Fatality Tracker: 2019 Chicago pedestrian and bicyclist deaths on surface streets
Pedestrian: 35
Bicyclist: 1

Note: Streetsblog Chicago’s traffic death numbers represent fatal crashes on Chicago surface streets, based on preliminary Chicago Police Department data for January though August 2019 released by the Chicago Department of Transportation, plus media reports for September.

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