Driver who failed to yield fatally struck Yehuala Melkama, 44, in Uptown crosswalk

Sunday afternoon a driver who failed to yield while making a left turn at the intersection of two residential streets in Uptown struck and killed Yehuala Melkama, 44, as she crossed the street.

According to Police News Affairs, at about 3:15 p.m. on Sunday, April 17, Melkama was walking in the crosswalk in the south leg of the intersection of Sunnyside Avenue and Hazel Street. A man driving west on Sunnyside in a gray Honda Accord sedan attempted to make a southbound left turn and struck her.

Melkama, who lived about a block away from the crash site, was transported to Illinois Masonic Hospital, where she was pronounced dead around 3:45 p.m., according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.

The Honda driver was cited for failure to exercise due care for a pedestrian in the road, police said.