Hit-and-run driver killed Vesmo Bernard Hanks, Jr., 25, who was reportedly fleeing a police stop on foot in Austin

Sadly, last month a hit-and-run driver struck and killed Vesmo Bernard Hanks, Jr., 25, whom the Chicago Police Departments says was running from a police stop at the time.

According to the initial CPD statement, on Tuesday, December 12 at around 2:30 p.m., Hanks was sitting in a stolen car parked at Buddy Bear Car Wash, 818 S. Cicero Avenue (4800 W.) in the Austin community. “Members of the Vehicular Hijacking Task Force attempted to conduct an investigatory stop when the suspect fled on foot,” the statement said. Cicero is is a five-lane street at this location, which encourages speeding. “The suspect ran a short distance into the street and was struck by a [driver].” The motorist did not stop.

Hanks, who lived several miles west of the crash site in the suburb of Villa Park, was taken to Mt. Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 2:55 p.m, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

The CPD statement said the Major Accidents Investigation Unit was investigating, and the Civilian Office of Police Accountability was responding.

NBC reported that the involved officers were put on routine administrative duties for a month, in keeping with CPD policy. COPA asked anyone with info on the case to call 312-746-3609, or visit its website to provide a tip.

The traffic crash report has no witnesses listed, and the narrative provides little information about how the crash occurred. The make and model of the car whose driver killed Hanks is listed as “unknown.”

Earlier this week a Police News Affairs spokesperson told Streetsblog no Community Bulletin had been issued about the hit-and-run driver, and had no updates on the case.

Hanks’ family has posted an obituary with a slide show to memorialize him.

Streetsblog Chicago Fatality Tracker

Pedestrian: 30

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 December 28, 2023, a sedan driver fatally struck Samantha Marie Hutcherson, 25, on foot at 10022 S. Halted Street in the Washington Heights community.
• On December 12, 2023, a driver struck and killed Vesmo Bernard Hanks, Jr., 25, whom police say was running from a police stop at the time at 818 S. Cicero Ave.
• On December 8, 2023, a hit-and-run SUV driver fatally struck a female pedestrian in the 4200 block of Congress Parkway in West Garfield Park.
• On December 7, 2023, an off-duty Chicago took her eyes off the road while driving to pick up her phone and swerved onto the sidewalk, killing Maria Schwab, 56.
• 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 Garfield 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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