Hit-and-run pickup driver fatally struck James Reed Tillman, 67, in Rogers Park

Tragically, last Saturday night in Chicago’s Rogers Park community, a pickup truck driver struck and killed 67-year-old pedestrian James Reed Tillman, and then fled the scene. Police eventually located the vehicle and made an arrest, but currently no one is in custody for the crime.

According to the initial Chicago Police Department statement, on Saturday, August 17 around 11:29 p.m., Tillman “was walking in the street” on the 1900 west block of Howard Street, the border of Evanston and Chicago. The eastbound male driver of a black pickup hit him and drove away without rendering aid. The victim was taken to nearby Ascension Saint Francis Hospital in Evanston, where he was pronounced dead. “Citations will be issued,” CPD stated.

The Illinois Traffic Crash Report, completed by responding CPD officers, provides more information about what reportedly happened. It states that responding Chicago police arrived at the crash site, 1937 W. Howard St., after Evanston Police Department officers had already secured the scene, and obtained statements from witnesses.

According to the traffic crash report, a female witness told police she saw Tillman crossing Howard when the speeding eastbound driver struck the senior and dragged him five to seven feet, and the victim appeared unresponsive.

A male witness said that “he heard the crash’s impact and saw a pickup truck [driver] veer around the victim and flee eastbound,” the crash report states.

The female witness called the Evanston police, the report states. A shift commander arrived promptly and administered CPR on Tillman, and then Evanston paramedics took him to Saint Francis. The victim had severe body trauma, and was pronounced dead at 11:59 p.m.

According to the report, the incident was captured by an Evanston Police Observation Device camera. “A flash message about the fleeing vehicle” driver was sent, and the pickup was later found 1.5 miles southeast of the crash site at 1120 W. Lunt Avenue in Rogers Park. CPD officers took a person into custody.

As of this afternoon, the CPD did not have an update on charges or citations.

According to a Chicago Sun-Times report by Cindy Hernandez and Violet Miller, as of Monday, the person who police arrested was released without citations or charges.

James Reed Tillman’s sister Connie Tillman King told the Sun-Times her brother had driven to the Tally-Ho Pub, 1951 W. Howard St., and had parked and was on the way to the bar with two nephews, aged 27 and 60, when he was struck. The younger man unsuccessfully tried to chase the pickup driver on his scooter.

Tillman King told the paper she hadn’t gotten any updates from the CPD, and said that previously her nephew was killed, and the police never solved the case. “It’s not the first time we’ve had a situation where a family member was killed where the police didn’t find anyone or hold them accountable,” Tillman King said. “They need to find whoever did this — for our family.”

Tillman’s son Ta’Sean Tillman told the Sun-Times that he has no ill will against the pickup driver, but also wants to see justice served. “I just pray that that person has remorse because this man was loved. I understand, it’s an accident, I don’t wish anything bad on that person, I just want justice for my dad.”

Tillman’s relatives described him as a fun-loving person who enjoying watching sports, and singing and dancing, with family members. “He’s a bundle of joy,” said Ta’Sean Tillman. That’s why I’m gonna miss him so much.”

Read more about James Reed Tillman’s life in the Sun-Times report.

Fatality Tracker: 2024 Chicago pedestrian and bicyclist deaths on surface streets

Please note: In addition to the following cases, there have been a few other pedestrian fatalities on Chicago streets this year that Streetsblog has not yet written about and are not included below. We will cover all these cases soon.

Pedestrian: 13

Bicyclist: 0

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 August 17, 2024, a hit-and-run pickup driver fatally struck James Reed Tillman, as he was crossing the street in the 1900 block of West Howard Street in Rogers Park.

• 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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