Tragically, a hit-and-run sedan driver fatally struck Tanja Annzionetta Safforld, 54, last Wednesday, November 20, in the Chicago Lawn community.
According to the initial Chicago Police Department statement, around 6 p.m. Safforld was crossing Western Avenue (2400 W.) at Marquette Road (6700 S.) Western is a wide, five-lane road, where speeding is common. The intersection is in the 16th Ward, represented by Ald. Stephanie D. Coleman.
The male driver of a gray or black four-door sedan struck her and fled the scene, police said. Safforld died from "catastrophic injuries."
Safforld's name was released by the Cook County medical examiner's office.
Police have issued a Community Bulletin about the case, including security camera image of the alleged offender's vehicle.
The Illinois Traffic Crash Report provides more information about what reportedly happened. According to the narrative, a witness said she saw Safforld lying in the street and called 911. The victim was taken to Christ Hospital in critical condition with a broken arm and collarbone, and punctured lungs, and later died from her injuries.
According to an ABC7 Chicago report by Tre Ward, Safforld's family members said she was making a run to the Dollar General store at the northeast corner of Marquette/Western during a movie night with family members. "When she didn't come back, I informed my dad, like, 'My aunt's been going for over an hour,'" the victim's niece niece Kyara Safforld told the station.
The authorities didn't contact the family until the day after Tanja Safforld was struck, ABC reported. "We couldn't be there with her to say goodbye," said her daughter Brittany Rogers.
The family is asking the driver to turn himself in. "We forgive you," Tanja Safforld's son Damion Martin said during the ABC segment. "Come on, this is somebody's mama, please."
Watch the ABC7 Chicago report here.
Fatality Tracker: 2024 Chicago pedestrian and bicyclist deaths on surface streets
Pedestrian: 21
Bicyclist: 3
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 November 20, 2024, a hit-and-run sedan driver fatally struck Tanja Annzionetta Safforld, 54, at Marquette Road and Western Avenue in Marquette Park.
• On October 20, 2024, a distracted car driver fatally struck a woman, 65, crossing Avenue O in Hegewisch.
• On October 5, 2024, a hit-and run Sedan driver fatally struck a man walking in the 500 block of South Homan Avenue in East Garfield Park.
• 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 Jimmy L. Jones, 70 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 June 18, a SUV driver fatally struck Patricia Mae Brzozowski, 75, at 4617 S. Hermitage Ave. in New City.
• 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 18, a hit-and-run driver fatally struck Patricia Mae Brzozowski, 75, at 4617 S. Hermitage in New City.
• 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 October 27, 2024, a hit-and-run Jeep driver fatally struck a man, 64, in the 1900 block of South Union Avenue in Pilsen.
• 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.
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