For years Streetsblog Chicago has done a writeup of every on-street pedestrian and bike fatality within Chicago, based on reports from other news publications, and/or well as preliminary Chicago Police Department data released by the Chicago Department of Transportation. The city of Chicago recently made improvements to its crash reporting, and currently crash reports are added to the city's data portal within a day or two of the crash. In response, earlier this month SBC cofounder Steven Vance launched a new Chicago Crash Browser, which pulls data from the city's data portal, checking for new reports every hour. Visit his personal website for info on how to access the browser.
Using the crash browser, Streetsblog contributor Steven Lucy found three South Side pedestrian crash fatality cases that hadn't been previously reported. Here's what we know.
SUV driver fatally struck Deborah Renee Jones, 67, in South Shore
On January 12, 2022, an SUV driver struck and killed Deborah Renee Jones, 67, in the 6800 block of South Stony Island in South Shore.
According to police, at about 8:05 p.m. that evening, a 65-year-old man was driving an SUV north in the far-left northbound lane on Stony Island. The avenue has eight lanes with a median, a layout that encourages speeding. In 2016 two local aldermen vetoed a CDOT proposal for a road diet with protected bike lanes on this stretch, arguing that reducing the number of lanes for drivers to six lanes would cause traffic jams.
Police said the driver told responding officers Jones "walked into the street" before he struck her. No other witnesses are listed on the crash report as corroborating his story.
Jones, who lived around the corner from the crash site on the 6700 block of South East End Avenue, was taken to Jackson Park Hospital in "grave condition with trauma throughout her body" and later pronounced dead, police said.
The driver was unhurt, but his SUV sustained "heavy front-end damage," police said. The motorist, who had a valid driver's license was issued unspecified citations, likely failure to reduce speed to prevent a crash and/or failure to exercise due care for a pedestrian in the roadway.
Police officer struck Javion Marquel Johnson, 20, with SUV after Johnson was shot multiple times in Roseland
On February 8, 2022, a Chicago police officer struck Javion Marquel Johnson, 20, after Johnson had been shot multiple times, potentially contributing to his death, at 12111 S. Stewart Avenue in Roseland.
According to the crash report, at around 2:05 p.m. that afternoon, while responding to an emergency call involving shots fired and a foot pursuit, a Chicago police officer in a Ford Explorer SUV saw a black vehicle matching the description of a suspect's car provided by the Office of Emergency Management and Communications. As the officer was driving north on Stewart trying to obtain the license plate number, he felt a bump in the road and discovered it was Johnson, who matched matching the description of a person who had fled a nearby site where shots were fired. "Further investigation revealed the victim had been shot multiple time prior to the crash," the report states, adding that multiple shell casings and a firearm were found near the victim."
According to the Cook County medical examiner's office, Johnson, who lived in southwest-suburban Midlothian, was pronounced dead at the scene. An autopsy determined the cause of death was multiple gunshot wounds and the manner was homicide. However, since it's possible that being struck was a contributing factor, Streetsblog is including the case in our fatality tracker.
Police said Johnson was shot by someone in the black vehicle. As of February 10, no one was in custody.
SUV driver fatally struck Larry J. Davis, 68, in Little Village
On March 27, 2022, an SUV driver struck and killed Larry J. Davis, 68, at 3350 S. Kedzie Ave. in Little Village.
According to the crash report, the 32-year-old male driver of a Ford Explorer SUV told responding officers that around 10:35 p.m. he was traveling south on Kedzie when Davis "abruptly made an attempt to cross the street" eastbound. The motorist added that he attempted to stop his vehicle, but couldn't brake in time to avoid the collision. After striking the pedestrian, the driver said, he spun out and ended up on the east sidewalk of Kedzie. According to the report, a witness corroborated the driver's story and said Davis had been walking north on the west sidewalk before attempting to cross Kedzie.
Davis, who lived in west-suburban Bellwood, was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
The driver was taken to St. Anthony Hospital in good condition and underwent a DUI blood test. He was cited for failure to reduce speed to avoid a crash.
Fatality Tracker: 2022 Chicago pedestrian and bicyclist deaths on surface streets
Pedestrian: 12
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 19, 2022, a motorcyclist fatally struck Timothy Kast, 46, as he crossed the 5300 block of West Irving Park Road in Portage Park.
- 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 27, 2022, an SUV driver struck and killed Larry J. Davis, 68, at 3350 S. Kedzie Ave. in Little Village.
- 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 February 8, 2022, a Chicago police officer struck Javion Marquel Johnson, 20, with an SUV after Johnson had been shot multiple times, potentially contributing to his death, at 12111 S. Stewart Avenue in Rosehill.
- 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.
- On January 12, 2022, an SUV driver struck and killed Deborah Renee Jones, 67, in the 6800 block of South Stony Island in South Shore.
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.
