CTA bus driver fatally struck William Hiebel, 85, next to LFT’s Buena underpass

Update 10/19/21, 9 AM: The Cook County medical examiner's office has identified the victim as William Hiebel. This article has been updated accordingly.

A CTA bus driver struck and killed an 85-year-old man Sunday evening on Marine Drive, next to the Buena Avenue underpass below DuSable Lake Shore Drive to the Lakefront Trail, in the Buena Park section of Uptown.

According to police, at about 5:10 p.m. on Sunday, October 10, William Hiebel was in the 4200 block of North Marine Drive. Marine, which parallels DLSD, is on the route for the CTA's #146 Inner Drive/Michigan Express, which stops nearby, and other express bus routes.

A northbound CTA bus driver struck Hiebel, police said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police did not mention any charges or citations for the bus driver.

A CTA spokesperson provided this statement: "It is standard policy that as part of CTA's investigation the operator is removed from service, interviewed, and tested for drugs and alcohol. The operator will remain out of service pending the results of the investigation to determine if any further action is necessary."

Although police described the victim as a pedestrian, a local resident told Streetsblog the senior was actually bicycling west from the underpass into the road when he was struck. A police spokesperson did not respond to a request for confirmation. This post will be updated as additional information becomes available.

Fatality Tracker: 2021 Chicago pedestrian and bicyclist deaths on surface streets

Pedestrian: 17
Bicyclist: 7

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.