Tracy Burton, 55, was third Chicagoan fatally struck by turning driver in 3 months
On Saturday night, for the third time in three months in Chicago, a turning driving failed to yield to a person walking, fatally striking them.
On February 20, a FedEx van driver ran over and killed Marsha Frankel, 72, in a crosswalk while the driver was making a right turn at Roosevelt Road and Wabash Avenue in the South Loop. And on March 19, a left-turning van driver struck and killed Guo Ning Li, 78, in a crosswalk at 24th Street and Wentworth Avenue in Chinatown.
According to police the recent fatality occurred on Saturday, April 8, around 9:48 p.m. at Jackson Boulevard and Laramie Avenue in Austin. 55-year-old Tracy Burton was walking north in the east crosswalk of the intersection when the driver of a gray Jaguar sedan made an eastbound turn and struck him, and then fled east.
Burton, who lived a block south on the 5200 block West Van Buren Street, suffered major head injuries and was taken to Mt. Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
As of Monday afternoon, no one was in custody, police said.
Streetsblog Chicago Fatality Tracker
Pedestrian: 13
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 April 8, 2023, a turning sedan driver struck and killed Tracy Burton, 55, crossing the street at Laramie Avenue and Jackson Boulevard in Austin.
- On March 29,2023, a sedan driver struck and killed a male pedestrian, 46, on the 2000 block of North Cicero in Belmont Cragin.
- On March 25, 2023, a driver ran a stop sign at Washington and Green streets in the West Loop, fatally striking James Robert Thompson and fled the scene.
- On March 19, 2023, a left-turning van driver fatally struck Guo Ning Li, 78, in a crosswalk at 24th Street and Wentworth Avenue in Chinatown.
- On February 20, 2023, a right-turning FedEx step van driver ran over and killed Marsha Frankel, 72, in a crosswalk at Roosevelt Road and Wabash Avenue in the South Loop.
- 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.
If you appreciate Streetsblog Chicago’s coverage of traffic safety issues, please consider making a tax-deductible donation to help us fund our next year of reporting. Thank you.
Streetsblog has migrated to a new comment system. New commenters can register directly in the comments section of any article. Returning commenters: your previous comments and display name have been preserved, but you'll need to reclaim your account by clicking "Forgot your password?" on the sign-in form, entering your email, and following the verification link to set a new password — this is required because passwords could not be carried over during the migration. For questions, contact tips@streetsblog.org.
