Tragically, a box truck driver struck and killed 44-year-old Karl Hall last Wednesday evening as he walked across Halsted Street (800 W.) in the University Village neighborhood. The trucker failed to stop to render aid and has not been apprehended.
According to the initial Chicago Police Department report, on Wednesday, May 15, around 7:15 p.m., a man was crossing in the 1300 block of South Halsted when the truck driver struck hit him and fled the scene. The victim was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
As of Friday afternoon, no one was in custody, according to a CPD spokesperson. The local City Council member is Ald. Jason Ervin (28th).
The Illinois Traffic Crash Report, filled out by responding CPD officers, provides additional information about what reportedly happened. According to multiple 911 callers, Hall was struck by a box truck driver who was no longer on the scene. University of Illinois Chicago police told the CPD that there was video of the crash.
The crash report states that the responding CPD officers reviewed the footage. It shows Hall drive north on Halsted in a gray 2006 Pontiac Grand Prix sedan, and park his car in a tow zone at about 1315 S. Halsted St, just north of Maxwell Street (1330 S.) He then walked west across Halsted.
According the report, video shows the driver of a white box truck, owned by a company that rents furniture for events, was heading south on Halsted and approaching Maxwell with a green light. "Mr. Hall is seen to... lean backward towards the truck and get clipped by the truck's front passenger side tire," the report states. "At that point Mr. Hall loses his balance and falls under the truck, and gets run over by said [truck driver's] rear tire."
The report says the trucker continued driving south and did not stop. Staffers from the CPD's Major Accidents Investigation recovered security video footage from Bar Louie, 1325 S. Halsted St. They were able to able to obtain the truck driver's license plate number.
Hopefully this information can be used to hold the truck driver accountable for their role in Hall's death.
Update 5/21/24, 1:35 PM: After this piece was published, a reader mentioned that a factor in this crash might have been a recent People's Gas project which has torn up the street on the west side of Halsted north of Maxwell. That may correlate with a statement in a CBS report on the case: "An employee who works at a nearby business said the victim was crossing the street when he tripped [emphasis added] and was struck."
Fatality Tracker: 2024 Chicago pedestrian and bicyclist deaths on surface streets
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.
2024 Chicago pedestrian fatality cases
• On May 15, 2024, a hit-and-run trucker struck and killed Karl Hall, 44, at he walked across Halsted Street at Maxwell Street in University Village.
• On March 31, 2024, a hit-and-run sedan driver fatally struck CPS teacher Charles "Charlie" Mills, 56, in the 6400 block of South Pulaski Road in West Lawn.
• On March 3, 2024, an SUV driver fatally struck a man police said was "sitting in the street" on the 3100 block of West Marquette Road in Chicago Lawn.
• On February 25, 2024, a pickup driver failed to yield while making a left turn, fatally striking married couple Zofia Chruszcz, 72, and Ryszard Stebnicki, 75, in an unmarked crosswalk at Archer and McVicker avenues in Garfield Ridge.
• On February 22, 2024, a driver fatally struck a male pedestrian, 52, who was crossing South King Drive at 47th Street in the Grand Boulevard community.
• On February 8, 2024, a hit-and-run pickup driver ran a red and fatally struck Jiekun Xu, 68, as she crossed Pulaski Road at 44th Street in Archer Heights.
• On January 21, 2024, a hit-and-run SUV driver struck and killed David Marshall Hoyle III, 35, as he crossed 95th Street at Union Avenue in Washington Heights.
• On January 7, 2024, a hit-and-run SUV driver struck and killed Jason Kardish, 40, as he crossed Ashland Avenue at Diversey Parkway in Lincoln Park.
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