Tragically, the driver of a semi-truck fatally struck a male walking in the street Wednesday night on Lower Wacker drive, in a location where there may have been no sidewalk option. The trucker left the scene after the collision.
According to the initial Chicago Police Department statement, on Wednesday, July 17, around 10:05 p.m., the pedestrian was walking in the 10-100 block of East Lower Wacker Drive when the truck driver hit him and continued driving. The victim was taken to Northwestern Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The Cook County medical examiner's office has not released the victim's ID, pending notification of kin.
The crash report provides more information about what reportedly happened. It shows the collision as taking place on the southwest corner of Lower Wacker and Lower Michigan. The pedestrian's name, age, and address are not provided, and he is listed as "John Doe," which indicates he had no ID on him. An Indiana license plate number is listed for the truck, but no model or company name is provided.
According to the narrative on the report, Police Observation Device camera footage showed that the victim had been walking westbound in the street. The semi driver approached from the west and stopped for a red light at Lower Michigan Avenue. When the light turned green, the trucker "accelerated and struck" the person, and proceeded east on Lower Wacker without stopping.
The South Side of this section of Lower Wacker, where the victim was walking, is lined with loading docks. Google Street View shows that at this location, if you're walking on the south side of the road, you must pass through a lockable gate to avoid walking in the street. If the gate shown above was locked at the time, that may explain why the pedestrian was walking in the street.
It's also possible that the driver and pedestrian didn't see each other due to the bend in the road.
Fatality Tracker: 2024 Chicago pedestrian and bicyclist deaths on surface streets
Pedestrian: 12
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 July 17, 2024, a semi driver fatally struck an unidentified male walking at the southwest corner of Lower Wacker Drive and Lower Michigan Avenue in the Loop and left the scene.
• On July 13, 2024, a car driver struck Steven Moore, 63, at 107th Street and Emerald Avenue in Rosedale, turned around, and fatally ran him over again.
• On June 2, 2024, a pickup truck driver fatally struck Xyaire Askew, 4, at 82nd Street and Harper Avenue in Avalon Park.
• 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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