On Monday, April 7, at around 5:09 a.m. a pickup driver, 26, fatally struck a 72-year-old male pedestrian at the intersection of Roosevelt Road and DuSable Lake Shore Drive, just west of the Museum Campus. It was reported that the victim had been trying to cross the highway on foot, although it's illegal to do so there.
Neighbors have since called for better signage to notify people on foot that just west of Roosevelt/DLSD, on the west side of the Roosevelt/Columbus Drive intersection, there is an underpass entrance and path to the Museum Campus. Since there's only one wayfinding sign at this intersection, some visitors get confused on where to go. Yesterday, Streetsblog discussed the pros and cons of some other options for this site, such as installing a direct bike-ped bridge across the Drive, or enabling at-grade pedestrian crossing.
Streetsblog usually does not include pedestrian and bike fatality cases that happen on roadways where walking and biking is prohibited. However, this appears to be a case where a driver killed a person on foot who may have initially been unaware that walking across the Drive is not allowed here. Therefore, I'm including this case in Streetsblog's Fatality Tracker series after taking a closer look at what reportedly happened.
According to the initial Chicago Police Department statement, the pedestrian was standing in a median when the northbound driver of a Dodge Ram who had a green light struck him. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene. According to the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office today, ten days after the collision, his ID has not been released, pending notification of kin.
Today a CPD spokesperson said the driver, who stayed at the scene, was cited for failure to exercise due care.
The Illinois Traffic Crash Report, completed by responding CPD officers, provides more details about what allegedly took place. It states that the victim lived in senior housing on the Near West Side.
The illustration on the report shows that the crash happened on the median in the center of DLSD, north of Roosevelt. The driver told officers he was heading north on the drive when he saw "the pedestrian walk out in the middle lane" and that "he did not have enough time to stop" before striking the pedestrian.
Another motorist, whose vehicle is labeled "3" in the above image, told police he was behind the pickup truck when he saw that driver "swerve to the right," and they collided. An additional motorist, whose vehicle is labeled "4," wound up sideswiping the pickup.
The Dodge Ram driver was taken to Northwestern Hospital for a blood draw to test for DUI, and his vehicle was towed for investigation. The senior's backpack and a glove were inventoried.
Fatality Tracker: 2025 Chicago pedestrian and bicyclist deaths on surface streets
Pedestrian: 6
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.
2025 Chicago pedestrian fatality cases
• On January 5, 2025, a Jeep driver fatally struck Alex Rivera, 32, in the 2600 block of West 60th Street in the Chicago Lawn community area.
• On January 24, 2025, a hit-and-run SUV driver struck and killed Halyna Hudzan, 66, on the 700 block of North Oakley Boulevard in West Town.
• On February 1, 2025, a truck driver struck and killed Hattie Mickell, 76, walking in the street on the 0-100 block of South Western Avenue on the Near West Side.
• On March 14, 2025, a motorcycle rider fatally struck Camryn Green, 26, as she crossed the street in the 6500 block of Higgins Avenue in Norwood Park.
• On March 17, 2025, a sedan driver sideswiped another car, then jumped the curb and fatally struck Jamie Cerney, 38, on the sidewalk of the 5200 blog of West 63rd Street in Clearing.
• On April 7. 2025, a pickup driver fatally struck a 72-year-old man trying to cross DuSable Lake Shore Drive at Roosevelt Road in the Loop.
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