Left-turning van driver who failed to yield killed Berta Arroyo Salgado, 73, in West Town
A van driver making a left turn last Tuesday in West Town failed to yield to Berta Arroyo Salgado, 73, as she crossed the street in a crosswalk, killing the senior.
According to police, on Tuesday, May 10 at about 3:40 p.m. Arroyo Salgado was crossing the east leg of the intersection of Chicago Avenue (800 N.) and Paulina Street (1700 W.) This intersection has stoplights, and it appears she had a walk signal.
The 57-year-old male driver of a 2007 Ford van was heading south on Paulina when he attempted to make an eastbound left turn, striking the pedestrian.
Arroyo Salgado was transported to Stroger Hospital, where she was pronounced dead a half hour later, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
The driver was cited for failure to show due care for a pedestrian in the roadway.
- On May 11, 2022, a left-turning SUV driver struck and critically injured a 23-year-old woman in a crosswalk at Wacker Drive and State Street in the Loop.
- On April, 18, 2022, a left-turning sedan driver fatally struck Yehuala Melkama, 44, as she walked in a crosswalk at Hazel and Sunnyside avenues in Uptown.
- On March 20, 2022, a left-turning car driver struck and injured a 6-year-old child and a woman, 42, as they walked in a crosswalk at Berwyn and Ashland avenues in Edgewater.
- On March 17, 2022, a left-turning driver struck and killed Miriam M. Grande, 70, at Grand and Austin avenues in the Belmont Central neighborhood and fled the scene.
Typically in such cases, if the driver stays at the scene and is sober, they merely receive minor traffic citations, even if they’ve taken a life.
Fatality Tracker: 2022 Chicago pedestrian and bicyclist deaths on surface streets
Pedestrian: 8
Bicyclist: 3
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.
2022 Chicago pedestrian fatality cases
- On May 11, 2022, a BMW sedan driver struck and killed 82-year-old Concepcion Lopez, as she waited at a CTA bus stop on the 2100 block of West Peterson in West Ridge.
- On May 10, 2022, a left-turning van driver failed to yield to failed to yield to Berta Arroyo Salgado, 73, as she crossed the street in a crosswalk at Chicago Avenue and Paulina Street in West Town, killing the senior.
- On May 6, 2022, a Cadillac sedan driver ran a red light at Roosevelt Road and Damen Avenue on the Near West Side, struck another vehicle, and careened onto the sidewalk, killing a 33-year-old man.
- On April 18, 2022, a left-turning sedan driver fatally struck Yehuala Melkama, 44, as she walked in a crosswalk at Hazel and Sunnyside avenues in Uptown.
- On March 17, 2022, a left-turning driver struck and killed Miriam M. Grande, 70, at Grand and Austin avenues in the Belmont Central neighborhood and fled the scene.
- On March 15, 2022, a car driver fatally struck Allen Lee Jr., 88, as he attempted to cross Western Avenue at 109th Street in Morgan Park.
- On January 20, 2022, a hit-and-run driver fatally struck Richard Haljean, 57, as he crossed Touhy Avenue at Oriole Avenue in Edison Park.
- On January 15, 2022 Angel Thomas, 35, was walking to her car on the 4300 block of West Jackson Boulevard in West Garfield Park when an SUV driver fatally struck her and fled.
2022 Chicago bike fatality cases
- On May 4, 2022, a Nissan Versa sedan driver fatally struck Nick Parlingayan, 22, on his bike at Milwaukee and Kilbourn avenues in Irving Park.
- On April 26, 2022, an allegedly intoxicated hit-and-run Volkswagen Jetta driver struck and killed Paresh Chhatrala, 42, near Madison and Peoria streets in the West Loop.
- On February 28, 2022, a BMW sedan driver ran a red light at Balbo Drive and DuSable Lake Shore Drive in the Loop, fatally striking Gerardo Marciales, 41, on a Divvy bike.
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