There were no fatal bicycle crashes on Chicago streets in 2024, until Saturday, August 24. That's when a car driver struck John Ward, 55, on a bike at Washington Boulevard and Central Park Avenue in the East Garfield Park community, and left the scene. Ward died from his injuries on Thursday, September 5.
But reportedly there was a second tragic fatal hit-and-run crash nine days after Ward's collision, on Labor Day, Monday, September 2. It appears that morning, another motorist struck Robert "Bob" Levin as he bicycled near Fullerton (2400 N.) and Ashland (1600 W.) avenues in the Lincoln Park neighborhood, and also fled.
Sadly, this seems to be the second time this year that a hit-and-run motorist fatally struck a vulnerable road user on the half-mile stretch of Ashland between Fullerton and Diversey Parkway (2800 N.). On January 7, an SUV driver struck and killed Jason Kardish, 40, as he crossed Ashland at Diversey in a crosswalk, and fled.
According to a social media post by Levin's sister, Marianne Zemil, around 7:15 a.m. that day, Levin, who lived in Rogers Park, was cycling southbound near 2444 N. Ashland Ave. when he was hit from the left side. "He was thrown from his bike and landed face-down," Zemil wrote. "He was found by a passerby unresponsive, as the impact had stopped his heart. He was given CPR, but after days in the hospital, died of injuries to his brain from it being deprived of oxygen as they performed chest compressions for 30 minutes before his heart restarted."
"The police are investigating this now as a possible case of vehicular manslaughter," Zemil added in the post. "We are looking for anyone who might have been near the scene and saw something." She told Streetsblog it’s unclear where her brother was going before the crash, which driver struck him, and who called 911.
Zemil said she first found out about the crash on the morning it happened, when she got a call from Advocate Illinois Masonic Hospital around 10 a.m., saying her brother was in the emergency department.
As Zemil and her husband were en route to the hospital, she received another call from a Chicago Police Department representative. That person told her the CPD were investigating the incident as a possible traffic crash but hadn’t yet found any witnesses.
Zemil said her family discontinued her brother's life support on Sept. 5, the same day that the East Garfield Park victim John Ward died from his injuries. It was less than a week before Levin would have turned 62.
Levin grew up in suburban Highland Park, but had lived in the city of Chicago for more than 30 years, Zemil said. He ran his own dog boarding and training business Called Bob's Perfect Pet Services as well as working for various other pet care businesses. He looked after not just dogs and cats, but also animals such as birds, rabbits, and ferrets.
According to Zemil, Levin was a running enthusiast, who was planning to do the Chicago Marathon in October. It would have been his 75th race, and he donated proceeds from his sponsorships to organizations like the Epilepsy Foundation and PAWS Chicago.
Zemil provided more details to Streetsblog about what happened to her brother, according to the CPD. Due to the nature of Levin’s injuries, and the damage to his bike, they believe a driver struck him from the left. Video camera footage provided the info that he stopped riding around 7:15 a.m. At some point after that, a person walking by found Levin in the street. A Good Samaritan administered CPR. It’s unclear whether the person who found Levin was the same one who administered CPR, and if that person or a third party called 911. Police said the person who did CPR wished to remain anonymous, and may have been a medical professional.
Zemil said Levin’s loved ones have been doing what they can to help the CPD with the investigation. They've taken pictures of all the video cameras along that stretch of Ashland, as well as leaving flyers in mailboxes and on windshields in the neighborhood.
However, police have told Zemil that local cameras have not yet provided much additional useful footage. Some of the cams were broken or facing the wrong way, or the quality was too poor to capture clear images. People with information about the case are asked to call Area 3 detectives at (312) 744-8261.
Zemil said she wonders exactly where her brother was biking at the time of the crash. He lived car-free and used his bike as his main transportation mode.
She said she found a notebook in Levin's apartment with an address on the 1200 block of North Ashland, just north of Ashland's six-way intersection with Division Street and Milwaukee Avenue in the West Town community. That's about 1.5 miles directly south of the crash site.
That might help explain why her brother was riding on Ashland, a five-lane street, that is the only continuous, direct north-south road in that part of town between Damen Avenue (2000 W.) and Halsted Street (8000 W.) Zemil noted that since the crash took place on a holiday, early in the morning, traffic on Ashland probably would have been relatively light.
However, even if that address was Levin's destination that morning, it's not clear why he would have been riding there. While Zemil provided Streetsblog with the exact street number, 1225 N. Ashland Ave., it's not obvious that that address coincides with any current residences or businesses on that block. One possibility might be that he was on his way to care for someone's pet.
While Ashland is a key Chicago north-south street, it's wide, speeding is common, and it has no bikeways. If it had concrete-protected bike lanes, Zemil noted, "my brother might not have been hit.”
An obituary for Levin and a video of his funeral are available here.
Fatality Tracker: 2024 Chicago pedestrian and bicyclist deaths on surface streets
Pedestrian: 17
Bicyclist: 2
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 August 17, 2024, an SUV driver fatally struck 33-year-old Taras Mykhailenko on the 3300 block of North Harlem Avenue in the Dunning community.
• On August 6, 2024, a semi driver struck and killed a woman near Roosevelt Road and Ashland Avenue on the Near West Side.
• On July 29, 2024, an SUV driver, who apparently was entering a parking, lot fatally struck a male pedestrian near 89th Street and Loomis Avenue in Gresham.
• On July 22, 2024, a car driver ran over and killed a male victim near 115th Street and Vincennes Avenue in Morgan 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.
2024 Chicago bike fatality cases
• On September 2, 2024, a hit-and-run driver fatally struck Robert "Bob" Levin, 61, at 2444 N. Ashland Avenue in Lincoln Park.
• On August 24, 2024, a hit-and-run car driver fatally struck John Ward, 55, at Washington Boulevard and Central Park Avenue in the East Garfield Park community.
Kirsten Lambert advocates and writes about sustainable transportation and environmental issues. She lives in Chicago's North Center neighborhood in the 47th Ward.
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