In the latest case of a reckless driver taking the life of an innocent bystander, a motorist ran a red in the Grand Crossing community, striking another vehicle before hitting a woman who was waiting at a bus stop, and then slamming into a building.
According to police, on Monday, December 13, about 2:15 p.m., a 68-year-old woman was standing at a bus stop at the northeast corner of 75th Street and St. Lawrence Avenue. The driver of a Ford SUV was traveling northbound on St. Lawrence with a green light when the eastbound driver of a Jeep ran a red and struck the SUV. The Jeep driver then careened onto the sidewalk, striking the woman and pinning her against the building.
The victim was taken to University of Chicago Hospital and pronounced dead at about 6 p.m., authorities said.
The driver of the Jeep was cited for disobeying a red light, police said. The driver of the Ford was ticketed for driving on a suspended license and operating an uninsured vehicle.
"All [the Jeep driver] had to do was stop," Shiann Fall, the SUV driver, told Fox Chicago. "That’s it, just stop, it’s a red light, just stop," said Shiann Fall, whose vehicle was struck.
"This could have been prevented if we just did the right thing and really watched traffic and know what safety is really about," Ameena Matthews, who leads an anti-violence nonprofit called Pause for Peace, told Fox. "This is just another form of violence in our community."
Tragically, it's a fairly common for drivers to fatally strike people waiting for CTA buses. Here are some examples from recent years.
- In April 2018, a speeding SUV driver struck and killed Janice M. Gilmore, 67, while she was waiting for a CTA bus at a shelter and injured five other people in South Deering.
- In June 2019, a police chase in Jeffery Manor ended with the death of Michael Jordan, 27, who was sitting in a CTA bus shelter when the fleeing driver struck him.
- In August 2019, an SUV driver slammed into a bus shelter in Woodlawn, killing Beverly Barney, 59, and injuring a 60-year-old woman.
- Also in August 2019, Myrna Logan, 81, and several other people were standing at a bus stop at Fullerton and Cicero Avenues when a driver struck them, killing Logan and injuring several others.
- In September 2021, a 52-year-old woman was killed while waiting for a bus in Auburn Gresham, by a hit-and-run driver who ran a red and struck another vehicle, a similar scenario to the recent Grand Crossing fatality.
There was another similar case last Monday, December 20, at about 4:30 p.m. in the 7300 block of North Clark in Rogers Park, when a driver ran a red light in Rogers Park, hit another car, and struck a 33-year-old woman on the sidewalk, before hitting a storefront. The offending driver and his passengers fled on foot. The victim was hospitalized in fair condition.
A driver and two passengers fled the scene of a crash in Rogers Park Monday after running a red light, then hitting a car and a pedestrian before crashing into a Clark Street storefront, according to police.
Watch the Fox Chicago report on the Grand Crossing case here.
Fatality Tracker: 2021 Chicago pedestrian and bicyclist deaths on surface streets
Pedestrian: 23
Bicyclist: 10
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.
