CTA bus driver fatally struck Kevin Herrera, 28, in Back of the Yards

According to police, at about 2 p.m. on Tuesday, February 14, Herrera was crossing Ashland Avenue southbound. At this location Ashland is a seven-lane street, and 47th has six lanes.

At that time, “a bus [driver] was traveling westbound on 47th street and passing the intersection of 47th and Ashland,” police said. The driver struck Herrera. According to the Chicago Fire Department, the victim was pinned under the vehicle, and air bags were used to life the bus off him.

Herrera, who lived nearby on the 5000 block of South Winchester Avenue, was taken to the University of Chicago Hospitals, where he was pronounced dead, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

The bus driver was not cited, police said.

A CTA spokesperson told Streetsblog, “According to a preliminary review of camera footage… a person standing on the sidewalk at the corner fell into the path of the bus.” That contradicts the police statement that Herrera was crossing the street when the bus operator hit him. The spokesperson said the agency was still looking into the incident and did not immediately have info on the work status of the driver.

Herrera’s sister-in-law Flor Herrera has launched a GoFundMe page to raise money for funeral expenses, who called his death “tragic and very unexpected.” She said he loved video games, his dog Layla and his two nieces. “We are devastated by Kevin’s passing and want to give Kevin the memorial he deserves, honor his memory and say our last goodbyes.”

In May 2020, 55-year-old Juan Cabral was crossing Ashland westbound in a crosswalk at 47th Street when a sedan driver turned east from Ashland onto 47th and pulled into the same lane as another car, which then skidded into the crosswalk, striking the pedestrian in the leg. Cabral later died from complications from the injury.

Pedestrian: 9
Bicyclist: 0

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.

2023 Chicago pedestrian fatality cases

• On February 14, 2023, a CTA bus driver fatally struck Kevin Herrera, 28, at at 47th Street and Ashland Avenue in Back of the Yards.
• On February 7, 2023, a driver fatally struck Erik S. Wills, 49, on the 8800 block of South May Street in Gresham.
• On February 6, 2023, a motorist struck and killed Stevenson Mays, 59, on the 5600 block of South Racine Avenue in West Englewood and fled the scene.
• On January 27, 2023, two drivers collided on the 5000 block of West Washington Street in Austin and fatally struck Jennifer Kelleher, 25, and then both fled the scene.
• On January 26, 2023, an SUV driver fatally struck an unidentified woman, 93, on the 300 block of South Laramie Avenue in Austin and fled the scene.
• On January 10, 2023, a sedan driver struck and killed an unidentified man, 33, on the 3500 block of West Lake Street in East Garfield Park and fled the scene.
• On January 3, 2023, a cargo van driver fatally struck Jaime Cuadra, 47, as he was exiting a vehicle on 87th Street in front of the Red Line station.
• On January 2, 2023, a 45-year-old man was crossing Lafayette Avenue at 79th Street in Chatham when a speeding driver ran a red, fatally struck him, and fled the scene on foot.
• On January 2, 2023, near 72nd Street and Damen Avenue in West Englewood, Roy Lee, 21, was getting into his car when a driver swerved into oncoming lanes, fatally struck Lee and hit three parked cars, then fled the scene on foot.

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