Tragically, a hit-and-run car driver struck and killed social service worker, musician, and actor Brendan Siddall early Saturday morning on North DuSable Lake Shore Drive near Waveland Avenue in Lakeview.
According to a Chicago Police Department community bulletin, on Saturday, June 21, around 3:34 a.m., Siddall was on foot in the 3600 block of North DLSD The northbound driver of a white 2019 four-door Honda Accord sedan with license number FH49505 fatally struck the pedestrian and fled the scene.
The bulletin asks people with information on the case to contact Major Accidents at 312-745-4521 or provide an anonymous tip at CPDTIP.com, using the reference number RD# JJ302688.
A security camera image of the vehicle provided by police shows the northbound vehicle coming from an offramp of the drive at Irving Park Road (4000 N.) That indicates that after striking Siddall the driver exited the highway shortly before Irving Park, and then fled west on Irving Park.
Streetsblog Chicago usually doesn't include pedestrian and bike fatality cases in our Fatality Tracker listings if they occur on streets where walking and biking is prohibited. However ir appears this case may involve some on-street pedestrian safety issues, so I decided to take a closer look at what happened.
This afternoon, Police News Affairs said no one was in custody.
The Illinois Traffic Crash Report, completed by responding officers, provides a few more details about what reportedly happened. It states that the exact location of the crash was 3655 N. DLSD.
Along with nearby Recreation Drive within the Lincoln Park green space, there are a total of a twelve lanes for motorists at this location. There's also a pedestrian underpass from the Lakefront Trail below the highway to the Inner Drive here, just north of Addison.
The image of the collision from the crash report indicates that Siddall was struck in the middle of the eight lane highway.
The narrative of the report doesn't provide additional info about how the crash occurred, except to say that the responding officers "responded to a person down in the middle of the road." Siddall, who lived several blocks north of the collision site on the 4200 block of North DLSD, was taken to Illinois Masonic Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
It's not clear what happened before the driver struck Siddall, or why the victim was on foot in the middle of the road
A witness told Streetsblog they were sitting in their car in the parking lot just east of DLSD near Waveland on a late-night work break, watching Netflix, facing east. They heard a booming sound behind them, and a few seconds later they heard tires screeching. "I didn't know that someone had been hit," they said. "I thought a drunk driver had hit a wall or something, because that is kind of a party area." They continued watching Netflix.
10 or 15 minutes, police began "swarming" the area, the witness said. When the witness looked in their side mirror, they could see that a person had been struck in the middle of the highway.
According to an ABC7 Chicago report, Siddall was employed at Chicago Misericordia Heart of Mercy, a local home for people with developmental disabilities, working directly with residents as a direct service professional. "Brendan came in with a lot of enthusiasm, was really fun, worked well with the residents, always had very high energy," said coworker TyChina Moore.
Siddall was also was a member of the Chicago Gay Men's Chorus. "We mourn the loss of a beautiful soul whose presence made CGMC a more loving and inclusive place," the group said in a statement. "Brendan will be deeply missed, but their spirit will continue to resonate in the music we make and the community we cherish."
Loved ones, friends and colleagues have posted remembrances of Siddall on Facebook. "Can we all just stop for a minute and remember the kind, talented, and beautiful soul that is Brendan Siddall?" wrote Karen Siddall. "Brendan, you are deeply loved—and you always will be."
Read the ABC7 Chicago report here.
Fatality Tracker: 2025 Chicago pedestrian and bicyclist deaths on surface streets
Pedestrian: 12
Bicyclist: 1
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 block 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.
• On April 29, 2025, an allegedly intoxicated sedan driver fatally struck a woman, 25, on the sidewalk near 13th Street and Lawndale Avenue in North Lawndale.
• On May 13, 2025, an allegedly drunk SUV driver fatally struck a man, 76, on the 7000 South block of Western Avenue in the Chicago Lawn neighborhood and fled the scene.
• On May 16, 2025, a semi truck reportedly disobeyed his traffic signal when making a right turn and ran over and killed a 44-year-old man in the crosswalk at Cermak and Ashland avenues in Pilsen.
• On May 24, an SUV driver failed to yield while making a left turn, causing a crash and fatally striking Maria Ochoa, 88, at Archer and Laramie avenues in Garfield Ridge.
• On June 21, a hit-and-run car sedan struck and killed Brendan Siddall, 26 on DuSable Lake Shore Drive near Waveland Avenue in Lakeview.
2025 Chicago bike fatality cases
• On May 26, 2025, a Hummer SUV driver fatally struck Yader Castaneda, 18, at Randolph Street and Michigan Avenue in the Loop.
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