Driver cited for fatally striking woman in her late 40s near 71st/Western in Chicago Lawn

Tragically, a car driver struck and killed a woman in her late 40s Tuesday just after midnight near the intersection of 71st Street and Western Avenue (2400 W.) in the Chicago Lawn neighborhood.

According to the initial Chicago Police Department statement, on Tuesday, November 28 at about 12:15 a.m., the victim entered the street on foot on Western just north of 71st. Western is a five-lane street, which encourages speeding. The northbound driver, a 20-year-old female, struck her.

The crash caused injuries to the pedestrian's head and body, police said. She was taken to Christ Hospital in critical condition and pronounced dead shortly afterwards.

A Police News Affairs spokesperson told Streetsblog today the driver stayed on the scene and was ticketed for failure to exercise due care for a pedestrian in the roadway. "The investigation is ongoing."

The traffic crash report provides more details of what reportedly happened. It states that the crash took place at 7051 S. Western Avenue, the location of a bus shelter and a gas station. It says responding officers observed the car, a 1998 Toyota Corolla "parked in the middle of the street facing southbound with the driver still inside and [the victim] laying on the the ground."

The crash report states witnesses told officers that "while traveling northbound behind [the Corolla driver] by the address of the [crash], they observed [the pedestrian] jogging [across] the street while [north-south] traffic had the light." While two different witnesses are listed on the report, obviously the victim was unable to tell her side of the story.

According to the report, the Corolla driver told police that while she was traveling north in the leftmost northbound lane, she saw the pedestrian jogging across the street. "In an attempt to avoid the crash, she changed to the right lane, but [the victim] continue to run towards [the motorist]. [The driver] then struck [the victim] and pulled to the side and made a U-turn to see what happened."

The report says the officers checked whether the incident were recorded by the Police Observation Device video camera at the nearby intersection, but it was not.

According to the report, the Corolla driver agreed to submit to testing for intoxication and was taken to Holy Cross Hospital for tests. Her vehicle was towed and held for investigation.

The report states that the motorist lives about four mile north of the crash. The victim's name is listed as unknown, and her street address is listed as the same one as the crash site. The Cook County medical examiner's office has not released her identity.

Streetsblog Chicago Fatality Tracker

Pedestrian: 26

Bicyclist: 5

2023 Chicago pedestrian fatality cases

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.

• On November 28, 2023, a car driver struck and killed a female pedestrian in her late 40s at 7051 S. Western Avenue in Chicago Lawn.
• On October 6, 2023, a hit-and-run pick-up truck driver fatally struck 55-year-old man on the 1900 block of West Cermak in Pilsen.
• On October 5, 2023, An SUV driver fatally struck a man, 70, while making left turn at 57th Street and Pulaski Road in West Elsdon, and a sedan driver also struck the victim.
• On October 4, 2023, a turning trucker fatally struck Chauncie J. Lewis while he was lying on the sidewalk at the northeast corner of Congress Parkway and Kostner Avenue in West Rogers Park.
• On September 21, 2023, the southbound driver of a white SUV fatally struck Lidia Morales, 46, in the 5900 block of South King Drive, next to Washington Park.
• On September 18, 2023, the drivers of a sedan and a crossover SUV crashed at the intersection of Peterson and California avenues in West Ridge, and one of the vehicles veered towards an unidentified man on the sidewalk, killing him.
• On September 9, 2023, a hit-and-run sedan driver struck and killed a male pedestrian, 56, on the 500 block of South Independence Boulevard in Garfield Park.
• On August 23, 2023, an SUV driver with a suspended license failed to yield while making a turn from Hoyne Avenue onto Cermak Road and fatally struck Irene Celestino Devillino, 48, in the crosswalk.
• On August 20, 2023 a hit-and-run sedan driver fatally struck Ulysses Coleman, 38, in the 5200 block of North Avenue in Austin.
• On July 25, 2023 a hit-and-run driver killed pedestrian Soyfa Athamanah, 69, in 5100-block of N. Broadway in Uptown.
• On July 13, 2023, a man was fatally injured after he was dragged by a driver and he struck another motorist's car at 818 S. Pulaski Rd.
• On May 29, 2023, a hit-and-run driver killed Angela R. Mcknight, 49, crossing in the 1200 block of S. Independence Dr.
• On April 14, 2023, a Chrysler driver fatally struck a man, 59, on the 8800 block of South Cottage Grove Avenue in Chatham.
• 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.

2023 Chicago bike fatalities

• On October 23, 2023, an allegedly intoxicated car-driver fatally struck Donald Heggemann, 59, who was biking north at 5115 N. Damen Ave. in the Lincoln Square community area.
• On October 4, 2023, a sedan driver fatally struck Joshua Anleu, 16, as he biked through the intersection of Waveland and Long avenues in the Portage Park community.
• On June 24, 2023, a left-turning driver fatally struck Józef Strus, 67, who was riding a bike at 57th Street and Natchez Avenue in Garfield Ridge.
• On June 7, 2023, bike rider Ron Mendoza, 43, died from injuries sustained in a July 5 crash with a car driver at Wrightwood Avenue and Pulaski Road in Logan Square.
• On May 7, 2023, bike rider Rick Lomas was traveling south on California Avenue in Humboldt Park when he was was fatally struck by a 2005 Pontiac Grand Prix driver who left the scene.

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