Along the drop in driving in Chicago during Stay at Home, speeding and crash severity has been on the rise, and last month was a particularly bad one for pedestrian and bike fatalities.
Streetsblog Chicago previously reported on the May deaths of pedestrian William Merritt, 57, (Near West Side), as well as three people walking and one person biking who were fatally struck by motorists during the space of one week that month: cyclist Andrew Peterson, 37 (Near West Side); an unidentified male pedestrian (West Humboldt Park); an unidentified man, 62 (Homan Square); and a young, female pedestrian (Near West Side.)
On Saturday, May 23, Juan Cabral, 55, died from injuries sustained in a collision earlier in the month in Back of the Yards, bringing the May death toll for vulnerable road users on Chicago streets to six. 40 pedestrians died and 4 cyclists were fatally struck on Chicago streets in 2019, for an average of 3.7 vulnerable road user fatalities a month.
According to police, On Tuesday, May 5, Cabral was crossing Ashland westbound in a crosswalk at 47th Street. Ashland has seven lanes at this intersection. The 54-year-old male driver of a 2009 Toyota Camry was turning east from Ashland onto 47th when he pulled into the same lane as the 28-year-old male driver of a 2007 Dodge Charger. The Charger then skidded into the crosswalk, striking the pedestrian in the leg.
Cabral was initially taken to Holy Cross Hospital in good condition. However, he was pronounced dead on May 25 at 7:30 a.m. at Mount Sinai Hospital, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office. An autopsy found that he had died from complications from injuries sustained in the crash.
There were no citations issued, according to the police, who said the case remains an open investigation.
Fatality Tracker: 2020 Chicago pedestrian and bicyclist deaths on surface streets
Pedestrian: 12
Bicyclist: 2
Note: Streetsblog Chicago’s traffic death numbers represent fatal crashes on Chicago surface streets, based on media reports and/or preliminary Chicago Police Department data released by the Chicago Department of Transportation.
